Sweet Dreams
by inure
Summary: Au. In an unlikely event with disastrous results, Neville accidentally turns Draco into Sleeping Beauty. Oh dear. Just when Hermione was starting to think her sixth year at Hogwarts would be normal... DMHGBZ, Dramione. Warning - Some light slash EMRWTN
1. Once upon a dream

**(_A/n_: This story is AU from book five onwards, and at the moment they are in their sixth year at Hogwarts. Their fifth year was the war, and the light side prevailed, Voldemort is gone for good. And, just a warning, there will be some slash, but it's light, and mostly there for humour and if I need a filler (incase, for some reason, a chapter is too small).**

**I should also point out that I'm from NZ, so if you're from the US or whatever, spelling may differ. **

**And before I forget:  
Disclaimer (and this applies to the whole story, therefore every chapter – I do not own Harry Potter. The Potterverse belongs to one J.K. Rowling.)**

* * *

Chapter One

_- - -_

Delusional  
I believe I can cure it all for you, dear  
Coax or trick or drive or  
drag the demons from you  
Make it right for you sleeping beauty  
Truly thought  
I could magically heal you  
Sleeping Beauty  
Poisoned and hopeless

- - -

Once upon a time, in a land not too far away, lived a brave, noble princess and a beautiful sadistic serpent in an enchanted castle - With hundreds of other men and maidens. This castle, you see, was a castle of learning; it housed wizards and witches. Quite a strange way to begin a fairytale, I suppose. But then again, the princess and her serpent were far from ordinary.

…and nothing's ever normal when Sleeping Beauty's a boy. But I really am getting a bit ahead of myself. Let's go back to when it all started…

- - -

He used to think his worst fear was Professor Snape. He still feared the greasy haired man, but having had him safe his life in the war, the once overwhelming terror gradually faded until he was only slightly afraid. Then his biggest fear had been Voldemort, but seeing the golden trio- in particular Harry Potter- defeat him, this fear too lessoned. The wizarding world was safe from Voldemort once and for all, not to mention Lucius Malfoy and most other prominent death eaters.

Looking back on this now, Neville Longbottom felt foolish. He had finally found – unintentionally, of course - the one person he should have feared all along. Draco Malfoy.

Or, as the golden trio liked to call him, the amazing bouncing ferret.

"You're dead, Longbottom! I'm going to enjoy this…" Draco Malfoy sneered at the cowering boy in front of him, smirking at the hoots and laughter from his fellow slytherins. "You should have known you wouldn't be able to avoid me forever."

During the war, each of the Slytherins before Neville had either helped the light side or gone into hiding. Draco had fought with the light as a double agent with Snape. He had saved Ginny and Fred Weasley from torture chambers when they'd been caught, and he'd been the one to – facing his worst fears - kill his father. Funnily enough, everything the Malfoy's owned was left to Draco in his parents will, making him rich, with large amount of property, including all of their holiday homes. (Witch weekly, in finding this out, announced him to be the second most eligible bachelor in the world, right after the boy who lived. – Excerpt from article: "_Sexy, cunning and richer than Harry Potter himself, Draco Malfoy owns mansions all over the world. Who wouldn't want this fine specimen of a man?"_)

Neville Longbottom whimpered, glancing around pathetically at the other sixth year Slytherins. Last week - on a horrible day for Griffindors of double potions with Slytherins - Neville had been carrying back an eye of newt to Hermione Granger, but had tripped. Unfortunately for him, the eye of newt fell straight into Malfoys cauldron, causing an immediate explosion. Blue smoke was let out, only reaching one person as the others hurried out, the closest person to the explosion- Draco Malfoy. Malfoy passed him on the way to Hospital Wing and whispered words he knew meant he was done for. _"You. Are. Dead."_

Sure, he was a hero to the Gryfindors, especially when Malfoy came to class the next day completely blue, sprouting tentacles, and his trademark sleek blonde hair a green afro (for some reason, he still had hufflepuff's swooning).

But was it really worth it? Now here he was, a week later, cornered after class in an abandoned hallway, surrounded by jeering Slytherins, all just waiting to see Malfoy did next.

_No,_ Neville decided, _it was most definitely __**NOT**__ worth it._

He shuddered and took one last step backwards, hitting the wall behind him. He felt in his pockets desperately for anything that might help him- not his wand, Malfoy already had that. He grasped a random object and pulled it out. The Slytherins advanced, laughing as he pointed a needle at them.

He remembered back to when he had left for the Hogwarts express. His gran had been rereading a book of fairytales, and had passed him a suspicious looking black needle. _"Here. I've cast a charm on it so that it won't hurt you, otherwise I know you'll forget about it and use it on yourself. I know you can take care of yourself, but incase of any bullies, all you need to do is prick them with this, okay dear?" She turned away from him and he heard her mutter under her breath, "The Royal Association of Happily Ever After better appreciate this. All I've done for them..." He shrugged it off, thanking her._ Back in the present, Neville prayed his gran wasn't crazy and this needle would help his current situation.

With a lunge faster than most would consider possible for him (but still not that fast), Neville leapt at Malfoy, whose last minute reflex had him with his hands up to shield his face- and Neville pricked his finger.

Malfoy blinked lazily, watching as Neville drew back in horror and a drop of blood ran down. "Is that all? Pathetic, Longbottom, rea-" Malfoy stopped, his eyes rolled back into his head, and he collapsed.

For a moment there was complete silence. And then- "My drakkie poo!" Pansy Parkinson shrieked, rushing to the unconscious blondes' side. Startled, none of them noticed the loud footsteps down the hallway.

"What the bloody hell just happened?" A voice called. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked towards the scene, and a stricken Neville ran to them. "I-I, I just- I didn't mean too, but what else could I- I mean you c-can't-" He stuttered.

"Calm down, Neville! What just happened?" Harry asked, alarmed by the state of Neville and the seven or so slytherins crowding around an unconscious Malfoy.

"Yeah?" Ron sneered, looking past Neville to the slytherins. "What are you snakes doing lurking around here? Run out of dark places to hide in the dungeons?" He snorted.

Hermione ignored him, quickly assessing the situation. "What's wrong with Malfoy? Someone needs to take him to Hospital Wing." She said, taking charge.

Pansy, still sobbing, got Millicent Bulstrode, and after a few tries managed to levitate him slowly in the right direction.

"Now then," Hermione glared around at them impatiently. "Would someone like to tell me what's going on?"

"Sod off Granger, we don't have to answer to you," the handsome Italian Slytherin Blaise Zambini answered. She glowered as his eyes traveled down her, making her cross her arms over her chest. Blaise smirked wickedly. "Tell you what though, you do something for me, I do something for you." He lifted an eyebrow suggestively.

"Bugger off, you wanker!" Ron snarled next to her.

Hermione sighed in exasperation. "Fine, don't help. We'll ask Neville what went on, and if something serious happened, I'll be reporting all of you," she paused to eye each Slytherin, "to Professor Dumbledore."

Blaise held up his hands in surrender. "No need to get your knickers in a twist, Granger! We were just leaving." The other Slytherins scowled but said nothing, and they retreated back down the corridor.

Hermione turned back to face the others. Harry had managed to get Neville to calm down and stop Ron from trying to – in his own words – 'Protect Hermione's honor,' at the same time.

"So what happened, Neville?" Hermione asked.

- - -

Having managed to get Neville to tell them what had happened, Hermione, Ron and Harry had taken Neville to Dumbledore to retell the whole thing to him. They bought him to where Draco was unconscious in Hospital wing.

"…And then I pulled out the needle and… pricked him." Neville finished, looking at his shoes.

Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling. "And that's what put Mister Malfoy in Hospital Wing, I presume?"

"I didn't mean to kill him sir! It was an accident, I swear! I was just scared, a-and please don't send me to Azkaban!" Neville babbled.

Dumbledore grimly smiled. "It's alright, Mister Longbottom, Mister Malfoy is not dead or dying. Quite the opposite, in fact," He said thoughtfully. "Also, nothing will happen to the Slytherins for what they tried to do to you, I'm afraid, as they did nothing to you because of what happened. However, until a way is found to wake up Mister Malfoy, the authorities may question you. But, Neville, and this is very important: is there anything you can tell me about that needle?"

Neville paused. "Um… My gran gave it to me before I left home; she said it was just in case I got bullied. Oh, she also said to give you this!" He grabbed an envelope from his cloak and handed it to Dumbledore. "Sorry I didn't give it to you sooner, I forgot," Neville said sheepishly.

Ron rolled his eyes and Hermione elbowed him.

Dumbledore read the letter and a strange smile graced his face. "I see. Well, for the first time in many years, it seems the Happily Ever After association has found a reason to play with fate at Hogwarts. An interesting past-time, theirs is." He mused happily.

Hermione gasped. "I've read about them- they recreate fairytales in the present day, by choosing the most worthy of people or couples to replay certain fairytales. They don't change history or fate so much as helping it along and adding a fairytale prop. Once the prop has been added they leave what happens to the people they have chosen."

"Sounds like a load of bollocks," Ron muttered to Harry.

Hermione ignored him and continued. "To think that they chose here! And I suppose that the element this time was the needle?"

Dumbledore beamed. "Excellent Miss Granger, yes!"

Harry's head turned to them. "Wait. Does that mean that Malfoy- Malfoy is _Sleeping Beauty_?" He asked incredulously.

Dumbledore nodded. "I'm afraid so, Harry. But you need not worry! No harm will come to Mister Malfoy, as no harm has or ever will come to someone affected by the Happily Ever After association. They do have that name for a reason." He added. "Now, I'm guessing you know how the story goes?" Dumbledore asked them.

Ron should his head, staring at the other two incredulously.

Hermione huffed. "Ronald, fairytales are better known – not to mention more accurate – in the wizarding world. Honestly…" She muttered.

"Would you like to tell Mister Weasley the story, Miss Granger?"

Hermione nodded and turned to Ron. "The basic story is this: there was a King and Queen who wanted a child. After a long time, the queen had a baby girl. Many people and fairies came to bless the child. However, one fairy had not been invited, and she came for revenge. She placed a curse on the child that meant that after its sixteenth birthday-"

Ron narrowed his eyes at Draco.

"No Ronald, Malfoy _is_ actually seventeen- after her sixteenth birthday she would prick her finger on the needle on a spinning wheel and die. A good fairy that couldn't stop the curse, but could soften it, made it so that when she pricked her finger, the girl would only fall into a deep sleep until true love's kiss. The King and Queen ordered every spinning wheel in the land be destroyed, and watched as their beautiful daughter grew up to be humble and kind-"

Ron, eyes still on Malfoy, snorted in distain.

"Until one day, lured away from her family, she did indeed prick her finger. She, and all the others that lived in the castle, fell into a deep sleep that they couldn't be awakened from. They slept for one hundred years until a prince came to the castle, and found the girl – and kissed her. She awakened and they were married, then lived happily ever after." Hermione rolled her eyes. She didn't believe in true love and happily ever after. Being a realist, and because of all that had happened in the war, it wasn't much of a surprise.

"But… Malfoy's a boy." Ron stated, frowning.

Dumbledore nodded. "The Happily Ever After association does not choose based on gender. In fact, they are not biased in any way, when choosing candidates. Why, they could have chosen someone gay-" Ron looked horrified "-it wouldn't have mattered, as long as they believed the love between the couple they chose was to their specifications."

"In any case, we were lucky enough for this exact fairytale to have happened a few times in history, so potions and such have been invented for this exact situation. I will have Severus brew a potion that will show us the location of Mister Malfoy's true love. We are hoping he shall not have to wait a hundred years for his."

Harry smirked and exchanged a look with Ron. If they were lucky, it would take years for Malfoy to wake up.

- - -

"Did you hear? I can't believe…"

"He's sooo hot…"

"…Asleep until, you know-"

Hushed whispers of Draco Malfoy's condition followed Hermione to the great hall the next morning. The news had spread fast over night, and all the girls were gossiping over it dreamily. Hermione rolled her eyes as she passed Parvati and Lavender giggling about Malfoy.

"Imagine… I bet it'll be me who'll be his true love…" Parvati boasted.

Lavender raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"It's true!" Parvati insisted. "I know we have a connection..."

Ignoring the rest of their conversation Hermione sat down next to Ron, who was shoveling scrambled eggs down his throat. "Good morning," he said cheerfully, glancing across to the vacant spot on the Slytherin table where Malfoy usually sat.

"Indeed." Hermione murmured. "How on earth did everyone find out about Malfoy so fast…" Hermione mused out loud as she poured herself pumpkin juice.

Ron froze with his fork in front of his mouth, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"Ron!" Hermione screeched, interpreting this look immediately.

Ron winced. "Sorry 'Mione, but the news is just too good. Me and Harry wanted to celebrate."

Hermione turned to glare at Harry, who had been unusually quiet since she had sat down. He adopted the same deer in headlights look as Ron, but he at least had the decency to look a little ashamed of himself.

Harry winced and looked down at his plate. "You know that sooner or later everyone would have found out anyway, Hermione." He shrugged nonchantly, looking away from her. "And I think Dumbledore is planning on making an announcement about it…"

As if to prove Harry's point, Dumbledore stood up and waited for the chatter to die down. "Students… as you may already know, only yesterday Draco Malfoy was put under a deep sleep. He is fine; however the state he is in will remain the same until his true love kisses him… He is currently locked in the highest room of the tallest tower."

Girls swooned and giggled.

"Severus created a potion that told us the whereabouts of the lucky lady. We know that she resides in Hogwarts."

Girls cheered loudly, ignoring the boy's glares.

"Bloody hell, who is she?!" An agitated Ravenclaw boy yelled, trying to get his girlfriends' attention back.

"…Unfortunately, we don't know anymore about her. Which is why for the next few months, until a kiss awakens Mister Malfoy, every girl in the castle will be required to kiss him."

For a moment, everyone was silent. Dumbledore, eyes twinkling knowingly, looked around the room at them innocently.

The students went wild. Some girls – including Pansy Parkinson, who was screaming "Stay back you vultures! He's mine!" – ran from the great hall supposedly to where Draco was sleeping. A couple of girls fainted on the spot, and some, like Hermione, ignored everyone and continued eating breakfast. Some of the Slytherin boys cackled gleefully, claiming Draco was the man. Most of the other boys were yelling in outrage, and holding back their girlfriends.

"Damn… Malfoy is one lucky bastard." Ron said in awe.

Harry grinned. "Yeah, but don't forget- while the girls are kissing him," he made a face, disturbed, "he'll be unconscious."

Ron laughed. "Yeah." He turned to Ginny and scowled. "Don't you even think about it." He threatened, seeing her watching the other girls run out of the hall.

Harry scowled next to him. "I second that."

Ginny smirked at her brother and boyfriend. "Think about what? You know, I'm kind of full. I'm just gonna go…" she motioned with her hand to the door.

Ron glared as she walked away; not noticing the look of longing Harry was sending Ginny's back.

Hermione laughed, waving bye to Ginny. "Come on, we've got double potions next, and I don't want to start this week with detention," she smiled at them, tugging Harry out of his seat.

"Ugh. Double potions with Snape, could it be any worse?" Ron scowled, falling in line with them.

Hermione coughed. "Actually-"

Ron stopped her. "-Don't answer that."

- - -

"…And then Seamus turned him into a rat, can you believe it?" Ron laughed, doubling over in hysterics.

Harry snickered. "And when he got turned back to normal he still had a tail!"

Even Hermione chuckled a bit. During potions, without the watchful eye of Malfoy, Goyle and Crabbe had been clueless. Finally Crabbe stumbled on his way to get an eye of newt and fell face first into Seamus' potion, turning him into a rat – which wasn't the intent of the potion, either. Snape let the class – which had only really been half its usual size, since all but three girls had gone to see Malfoy – leave early to take Goyle the rat up to hospital wing.

The trio turned down another corridor, walking towards charms. "I swear, that memory is only second to when Malfoy was turned into a ferret."

At the end of the hallway they saw a line of girls that continued around the corner. "What are they there for?" Ron wondered allowed, his eyebrows furrowing in curiosity.

"…My god. I think that's the end of the line for the girls waiting to kiss Malfoy." Hermione spluttered in disbelief, her eyes wide.

Harry sneered, his eyes narrowing. "No way. Even he isn't that popular- and that tower is another two floors away!"

"We still have another eighteen minutes until charms starts, let's go check it out."

They followed the line of shrieking girls up to the highest room of the tallest tower, where an exasperated Professor McGonagall was trying to explain something to them.

Parvati, who was first in line, was wailing like a banshee. "Why? Why are you trying to stop our love? It doesn't matter; you can't keep Draco from me!" She shrieked, trying to march through the door into the room where Draco slept, only to be tossed out by a magical barrier.

"Miss Patil, for the last time, control yourself!" McGonagall shrieked at the girl. "I have already told you, Dumbledore and I have decided to do this in a rational order. Which means we start off with only girls in his year-"

"I'm in his year!"

"-In Slytherin! Then girls in his year in Ravenclaw, then Hufflepuff, and THEN Gryffindor!"

Parvati sobbed as Millicent Bulstrode shoved her aside. "Out of my way."

The scarily man-like girl marched menacingly into the room as the trio, McGonagall and Parvati looked on in horror. Draco laid in peaceful sleep on a king size bed in the middle of the room, obscured from sight as a hysteric Pansy clung to him. "W-why wont you wake up, you bastard!" She stuttered, wailing.

Her eyes widened as she saw Millicent walking towards him, and she began kissing him fanatically. "Noooo!" Kiss. "Not-" Kiss, "My-" Kiss "Drakey-poo!" She slapped him, crying. "You bastard Draco! Why won't you wake uuuup? Stay away, Millie, you can't have him, you ca- oomph!" She fell backwards off the bed as Millicent pushed her away.

Every one looked away as she puckered up and planted one on him. "Nooooo!" Pansy squealed dramatically in the background.

"Aha! I told you Millie, I told you!" Pansy cried triumphantly when Draco remained unconcious.

Millicent sighed and strode back out the door, shrugging at McGonagall and the trio. "Thought I might as well try my luck… and get my name signed off the list." She said gruffly, gesturing to the long list McGonagall was holding.

"Thank you, Miss Bulstrode. Back to class now, please. You lot too, and take Parvati with you." She told the trio.

Harry and Ron nodded. Sending one last look of disgust in Malfoy's direction. Hermione took one last look too- and gasped, suddenly breathless.

How… how was it possible?

How did Draco Malfoy, the one boy she had loathed all these years, suddenly look so innocent and… attractive? His blonde hair was like a halo, framing his pale albeit rosy face. His lips looked enticingly sweet. He did not snore, she couldn't even hear him breathe, but she saw his chest slowly rise and fall in a small motion. He was as entrancing as a veela. For a moment, her complete desire for him had her oddly mesmerised.

"You coming Hermione?" Ron called, struggling to keep his grip on Parvati. "Don't want to be late for Charms, right?"

Hermione turned away, shaking her head. It was probably just a trick of the light. "Coming!" She called back, jogging to catch up with them.

After all, how could such a git ever look like such an angel?

* * *

(a/n: Yay. Done. Second chapter will hopefully be posted soon, but I'll be away for a while cause I'm going skiing :D I've only ever been to the snow once when I was three, so yeah… pretty excited. Ahem. Anyways, props to anyone who knows the song at the beginning. It's Sleeping Beauty, by A Perfect Circle).


	2. Well enough alone

**(a/n: Hi. **

**Thanks for the reviews, guys :D Motivation for me to update quicker. Er, please drop a line if you read this story – just whether you like it, or what about it you don't like, and critical feedback is always nice. I really want to improve my skills as a writer.  
I _do _get a little annoyed when I see the people who have this story on alert or fav-ed but didn't take even a few seconds to say something. **

**Also, just** **so you all know, Ron/Hannah isn't a ship in this fic. They're just friends.  
And, of course – I'm sorry I forgot in chapter one – thanks to my Beta, Rhye.  
That be all. Enjoy!)**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

- - -

_Two people touching lips  
Hands on each other's hips  
Nothing else in the world but one another  
The 42nd floor  
On a distant shore  
I wonder how we've strayed so far from this  
Remember when we were  
Just flesh and bone  
You sir may have forgotten how good your world can be  
So, put down your hollow tips  
to kiss your lovers lips  
And know that fate is what you make of it_

- - -

Prefect duties, homework, and extra studying left Hermione with barely any time to think of Draco Malfoy's condition. She probably would have forgotten all about him by now if it weren't for the incessant gossip of him between girls all over the castle. It was well known that no girl had kissed him awake yet. Almost all the Slytherin girls in their year had kissed him, too.

And then there was how beautiful he had looked. He wouldn't leave her head, and she hated it. She closed her eyes and there he was, sleeping peacefully, looking like an angel who could seduce the devil. She had never wanted someone that much and it scared her.

If she were truthful with herself, she would've admitted it. But Hermione drowned herself in work, trying not to think of him. _He'll go away soon…_ she rationalized. _I'll stop thinking of him soon…_ And while that may have worked during the day, he still haunted her dreams.

It was only a week later on her way to charms that Hermione decided to see him again. A quick peek couldn't hurt. But she stood at the entrance to the room, ignoring the black clad figure of Pansy – who refused to leave Draco's side, and acted and dressed like a widow – and was left speechless.

He was just as beautiful as before – perhaps more, even. She watched him, completely entranced.

"…Miss Granger. Miss Granger!" An irritable Professor McGonagall snapped.

"Huh?" Hermione said, snapping out of her trance.

The older witch sighed, shaking her head slightly. "Go to class please."

Hermione nodded fervently, running away from that room as fast as she could, as if running away from it was running away from her feelings.

So caught up in everything, Hermione never noticed the angry jealous eyes of Blaise Zabini follow her as she ran out of sight. Skulking in the shadows, he sent one last angry glare towards the unconscious form of his best mate -who his current object of affection had been staring at longingly- and then stalked off to class.

- - -

Ron Weasley couldn't believe his luck when Hannah Abbott invited him to a Hufflepuff party. Okay, sure, it was Hufflepuff party, and therefore guaranteed to be boring, but still- it was _him_ who got the invite for once, not _Harry Potter_. In fact, oddly enough, Hannah had asked him not to tell Harry about the party. He grinned to himself as he remembered her final words to him. _"Oh, and Ron? Don't bring a date." _She winked as she walked off.

Ron cast a not to subtle glance around the common room, then turned to Harry and Ginny, who were playing an intense game of wizard chess.

"Hey, erm, I was thinking I'd go to the library. And get out that book Hermione's been going on about lately." He said quickly, standing up.

Harry and Ginny stared at him like he'd grown a second head.

"You'd think if hell had frozen over it'd be in the Daily Prophet." Ginny told Harry, sounding half serious. Harry chuckled, still giving Ron a puzzled look.

"What?" Ron asked uncomfortably.

"Ron, you just said you were going to the library. Of your own free will. To get out Hogwarts: A history, a book Hermione's been going on about for years, not just lately." Ginny stated. "Are you feeling okay?"

"What, so I can't feel like reading once in a while?" Ron asked angrily.

"No, that's not what we mean mate. But when was the last time you actually read a book by choice?" Harry asked, holding up a hand to stop him when he opened his mouth to reply.

"Quidditch magazines don't count." He said, effectively shutting Ron up. "And if you're going to the library…" Harry looked him up and down, his eyes narrowing in confusion, "why are you wearing the clothes you always wear when we have a party?"

Ron laughed nervously, fiddling with the hem of his shirt as he slowly backing away from them towards the portrait entrance. "Ha HA! Harry mate, no idea what you're on about. Look, I'll see you guys later; I really want to get that book out! Ha ha! Bye guys!" Ron said near hysterically.

He turned and ran out the common room, nearly banging into some disgruntled first years. Harry turned to Ginny, a quizzical look on his face. Ginny shrugged in silent answer.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say he got invited to a party." Harry said, telling his pawn to go forward.

He and Ginny's eyes met. "Nah." They said simultaneously.

- - -

Meanwhile, Hermione was actually in the library, finishing her four-page essay on the uses of dragon's blood – two pages longer than necessary.

Out of habit she bit her bottom lip unconsciously as she wrote. "…There!" she exclaimed loudly, having finished it. She froze as she heard footsteps approaching her from behind, wincing at the thought of a lecture from Madam Pince.

She felt a hand snake around her waist and someone lean over her shoulder.

"The uses of Dragons blood… an essay not due for another three days." Blaise Zabini whispered in her ear. She scowled. She didn't need to see him to know he'd have an arrogant smirk on his face.

"Get off!" She said pushing him away and standing up. "What do you want, Zabini?" She turned to look at him defiantly.

He was smirking, too. His hair, as black as Harry's - only tidy – shined under the lights of the library, and his electric blue eyes pierced her brown ones. He leaned back casually against the bookshelf behind him, and Hermione wondered how he kept in shape – he didn't play Quidditch, yet he seemed thin – not skinny, an average build – with some well defined muscles.

"You're relatively intelligent. I'm sure you can guess." He replied, leering at her suggestively.

"Not interested." She said simply, turning and packing up her things. She was uncomfortably aware of his eyes watching her intently, but he remained silent.

She was beginning to think she'd be able to get out of there without any more comments from the sycophantic Slytherin, when his voice stopped her in her tracks.

"I saw you."

She froze. "Saw me what, Zabini?"

He advanced on her slowly, and she stood her ground warily. "Watching Draco. Didn't think you had a thing for him like every other bloody female at this school," he spat angrily, his calm mood rapidly changing.

She backed away from him, trying not to be intimidated. "I don't like him. He's a git. Just like _you_." She said pointedly.

"Really? They way you were looking at him would suggest otherwise. Unless you look at all 'gits' like they're a piece of meat you can't wait to devour. …No, that's not right." He paused, thoughtful, taking another step towards her, effectively trapping her between him and a bookcase, ignoring the 'thud' of her bag falling to the floor.

"You looked at him like he _mattered_. Like he was all that was _good_ and _perfect_," he said maliciously, his hands on the bookcase either side of her head. "You never looked at me that way. _Never_."

"I doubt I looked at him like that," she said, her eyes narrowing. "But if I ever felt that way, why would it matter, Zabini? Why should you care enough to do- this? Corner me in the library?" She sneered uncharacteristically. "What would your snake friends say? What would _Malfoy_ say?"

He looked hurt for a moment, but then his eyes darkened. "Listen to me." He grabbed her arms, looking into her eyes seriously. "I don't care about those guys. They can go to hell. I care about you. About us." He paused, as she looked away from him.

"Don't you care about me at all?" He asked softly. "Don't you remember what we went through?"

"If you mean the war," Hermione countered indignantly, "then what everyone went through."

"We were partners," he growled, pressing closer to her.

"I thought we had gotten past this. What happened to our agreement? Things go back to normal at Hogwarts, we don't mention the war, and you leave me alone." Hermione retaliated.

"The deal's off." He said simply, leaning in next to her ear. "I still feel the same way… and I'm not letting you go this time." He whispered. "No more excuses, Hermione. No more running."

She shivered as he said her name, memories running through her head vividly. "I told you Zabini, it never would have worked. My answer is the same as last time." She said indignantly, but sounding a little unsure.

His lips curled into a malevolent smirk. "Is that so princess?" He grinned, watching her squirm uncomfortably under his gaze.

"I know we couldn't be together last time because of the war, and that slut Angela…" He murmured, leaning in and trailing kisses up her neck, "but that was a spur-of-the-moment mistake. What's to stop us this time?"

"Me. My choices and my opinion." Hermione growled, flustered from his kisses and turning bright red, whilst trying to shove him off.

She felt him grin against her neck with another soft kiss. "Opinions change." He said simply. "And the war's over now. I have all the time in the world." He reached her jaw, placing light kisses along it towards her lips. "I'll get to you Granger." He grinned deviously. "I'll have you wanting me, I swear."

Hermione gasped, her breath caught in her throat as she caught the gleam in his eyes. He leaned in before she could move away, pecking her softly on the lips. "…Until then." He grinned, noticing how fast she was breathing. With one last look and a mocking bow, he turned and left.

She glared at his retreating figure, trying to calm down. Her heart was beating furiously, and she knew she was probably dark red by now.

"Stupid cocky Slytherin." She muttered.

- - -

Ron grinned as he accepted another drink from Hannah. "Thanks."

"It's got a bit of alcohol in it by the way. And no problem." She replied, smiling back. "So, I'm going to go find Terry – he's my date," she said blushing.

"Huh?" Ron asked, confused. Hadn't she asked him here as her date?

Hannah read his face and giggled. "Oh, right. I forgot to tell you- my friend asked me to ask you to come here as a favour. They really like you…"

"Really? Who is it?" Ron asked, intrigued.

"You'll see. They'll find you. They might be a little late though, so help yourself to punch, and – I don't know, talk I guess. Find me if you need anything."

Ron shrugged as she walked away, surveying the room. For a Hufflepuff party, it wasn't too bad. No where near as good as Gryffindor or Ravenclaw parties, of course, but still – not too bad.

The party had been set up in the room of requirement, and had required the password 'loyalty' to get in. It was quite dark inside, with only a few lights. Loud music came from everywhere in a very surround-sound way, and even though it was only nine at night, a group of about thirty Hufflepuff's had started dancing on the floor, while others had formed smaller groups around the place to drink and talk.

Ron downed the rest of his drink and gathered his courage, heading to the dance floor. Whoever wanted to meet him was going to be late anyway, so why not dance for a while?

He was just getting his groove on (fa/n: S urgh. Haha) when a pretty blonde Hufflepuff – Angela Daonia, whose reputation preceded her – joined him. With a seductive smile she danced up against him, and the feel of skin on skin made him shiver. Angela was wearing a short mini-skirt and a small purple top, the material thin.

Ron wondered if she was who Hannah had been talking about, but he was pretty sure they weren't friends. Angela was too much of a loose canon (not to mention a bit of a slut) for Hannah to accept her. Angela didn't mind, she thought Hannah needed to loosen up.

After a few more songs, Angela moved on to another guy in her house. Ron moved away from the crowd to get himself a drink.

He gulped down the punch greedily. He hadn't noticed how thirsty he had been.

"Sure hits the spot after all that dancing, doesn't it?" Someone chuckled next to him.

Ron spluttered, startled, nearly spilling the drink over himself. "Bloody hell!" He exclaimed, noticing Ernie Macmillan, a well-built hufflepuff, next to him, his usually tidy blonde hair in casual disarray that fell a little into his hazel eyes. Ernie leaned against the table, watching Ron cautiously. "When did you get here?"

Ernie laughed. "Sorry man, I didn't mean to scare you." He said, placing a friendly hand on Ron's back as he coughed. "I got here about ten minutes ago, but I just came over to you now."

"Uh-huh…" Ron nodded intelligently, the alcohol already affecting his brain.

"So… how's the party been? Pretty good, from the looks of you and Angela." Ernie said, his tone bitter.

Ron winced, realisation setting in.

He had noticed Ernie watching him lately. It had been a little bit creepy, and Ron had been wondering why. After all, even though he and Ernie were on talking terms, they weren't very good friends – saying hi in the corridors was as close as they got.

But all the staring, and standing uncomfortably close- and now, talking to him, even though they'd never really had a conversation that lasted more than a few sentences – Ron finally got it.

Ernie Macmillan liked Angela, resident Hufflepuff whore. And Ron was competition.

"Hey man," Ron said quickly, holding his hands up in an innocent gesture, "I'm sorry. I didn't realise you and Angela had a thing going on. Or that you had a thing for her. It's not my fault, though! She came up to me! And I'm not the only one- blimey, that girl works fast."

Ernie looked affronted and surprised. "What? I'm glad you won't go near her again, but - Ron, I think you've got the wrong idea-"

"No no, I'm really sorry. I won't go near Angela again; I get it, all yours!" Ron said quickly, only one thing processing through his thoughts: _Can't get into a fight at the first party I've been invited to without Harry._

Ernie gave him a puzzled look, and Ron fidgeted nervously, reaching to down the rest of his drink. Ernie pulled it off him. "I think you've had enough to drink." He muttered, glaring at the floor.

Ron winced again, sensing his anger was because of him. "Look Ernie, I'm so-"

"No, don't apologise. I'm not mad cause of you. Just- Ron, did Hannah tell you who she had set you up with for this party?" Ernie asked, agitated.

Ron blinked once.

Twice.

A third time. "…No."

"Ok. Well, don't freak out or anything…" Ernie paused and looked at him. Ron nodded for him to continue.

"You see… I thought you were here for me. I thought Hannah had asked you to come here to meet _me_."

Ron blinked again. "…Muh?"

Ernie went bright red, babbling something about red-heads turning him on, and how he thought Ron was the best keeper in Quidditch, especially the way his shirt sometimes flew up and gave a good view of his very well toned stomach…

Ron cut him off with a shriek. "Wait, what?!"

Ernie straightened up, looking him in the eye. He glanced around uncomfortably, then launched himself at Ron, kissing him on the lips aggressively, pulling away before Ron could do anything.

Ernie smiled at him. "Hannah got you to come here to meet me." He winked suggestively, albeit nervously. "I've always had a thing for red-heads."

Ron looked at him in horror, and then turned to search the crowd, finding Hannah looking at him. She smiled when she noticed, waving.

"Is this some kind of sick Hufflepuff joke?" Ron asked with wide eyes.

"We're _Hufflepuffs_ Ron, we don't do sick jokes." Ernie replied, hurt.

"Yeah? Well… well… I'm leaving. So there!" Ron yelled, stumbling to the door.

"Wait-"

"No! Stay away from me you freak!" Ron yelled at Ernie, guilt washing over him as he saw Ernie crumple into the epitome of sadness.

"Alright. I understand Ron, I won't touch you. Sorry." Ernie said unhappily, withdrawing his hand in mid air. He watched dejectedly as Ron ran from the room.

- - -

Ron walked uneasily down the corridor. Last night had been a bit of a blur for him, but when he remembered the details… he shuddered.

Ever since Percy had come out of the closet during the war, Ron had been homophobic. It wasn't that he hated gays or anything like that. Ron had always been afraid of being like Percy – stuck up, obnoxious, _boring_. He and his siblings couldn't figure out why. Bill and Charlie had been cool, Fred and George were funny, and he and Ginny were popular. So where had Percy had gone wrong?

In his bizarre and unfathomable mind, Ron Weasley had somehow deduced that being gay was why Percy was the way he is. And set on being not at all like Percy, Ron developed a fear and dislike of the gay community.

Poor Ernie.

In any case, the night before Ron had left his wand at the Hufflepuff party. He hadn't been able to tell Harry or Hermione, because that would lead to him having to explain his absence last night, and Hermione would probably scold him. Luckily for him, Hannah and Ernie had located his wand before the party got too out of control. They had owled him at breakfast that morning, and he was to meet Ernie at the library just after breakfast.

Ron sighed, running a hand through his fiery red hair. He felt a little guilty, remembering the dejected look on Ernie's face last night. 'I shouldn't have called him a freak…' Ron thought, wincing. He had been a little too harsh. Maybe he could apologise to Ernie today, straighten things out. Hmm…. How to say I think you're a great guy, but I just don't swing that way, no hard feelings – without being too blunt?

Ron walked a bit faster, seeing the library at the end of the corridor a few rooms down.

A hand appeared out of a doorway on Ron's right, grabbing his arm and pulling him into an empty classroom before he could do anything.

Theodore Nott, a lanky black haired Slytherin with dark misty green eyes, quickly shut the door behind them, grabbing Ron again and shoving him against the wall next to the door violently.

He grinned, pointing his wand at Ron. "Accio wand!"

Ron flinched, but nothing happened.

Nott tsked. "Not smart, Gryffindork. What are you doing wandering around wandless?"

Ron glared back. "What do you want, Nott?" He asked defiantly, shoving him away.

The tall Slytherin boy backed away, holding his hands up in a 'don't shoot' manner. "I've wanted to talk to you for a while now." He replied, his smile charming although smarmy.

Ron relaxed considerably, staying on his guard. "Alright then, hurry up."

Nott rolled his eyes. "Feisty, Weasel. Okay, I'll be blunt." He smirked deviously, taking a step towards Ron again.

He put his hand on the wall near Ron's head, grinning as he noticed Ron's eyes narrowing again. "I happen to have… a bit of a thing for red-heads." He chuckled as Ron's eyes widened comically.

Ron growled at him, grabbing his collar and pulling Nott's face close to his own. "Stay away from Ginny!"

Nott looked confused for a moment, and then laughed again. "Not what I meant, Weasley…"

Ron looked at him suspiciously. "Really?" He asked rhetorically.

Nott nodded. "I like red-heads – of the male variety."

Ron's face changed in a flash, from a scowl of anger, to look of realization, to a gasp of horror. "I-I think you've got me wrong," Ron replied nervously, chuckling and backing into the wall. "I don't swing that way."

Nott's grin was feral, and he stalked closer to Ron like a hunter to its prey. "That's ok, you don't have too." He said sardonically.

"Help!" Ron yelled, just before Nott lowered his head and kissed him hard on the lips.

Nott's breathing became ragged as he ran a hand through Ron's hair, effectively shutting the Gryffindor up with another harsh kiss, and then leaned in next to his ear. "No one will hear you scream, Weasley. You might as well shut up and enjoy it, because-"

The door burst open, and Ernie leapt into the room, finding Theodore Nott snogging Ron up against a wall. He looked from one boy to the other, a look of disbelief on his face. Ron grimaced uneasily, attempting to push Nott off him again. Nott regarded Ernie coolly. "Hufflepuff." He noticed, sounding disgusted. "Leave." He said, glaring at him.

Ernie replied with a glare of his own. "You bloody Slytherin prick! Get off him," he gestured to Ron – "NOW."

Nott sneered back at him. "Or you'll do what? Run along little boy, this doesn't concern you. Go back-"

"Expelliarmus!" Ernie yelled, disarming him. Nott yelled, starting towards him.

"Stupefy!" Ernie said, effectively knocking Nott unconscious. The Hufflepuff turned to Ron with narrowed eyes, grabbing his wrist and yanking him out of the room. "What were you thinking?!" Ernie yelled at Ron, dragging him along the corridor.

"Bloody hell, it wasn't me! I didn't-" Ron replied indignantly, offended.

"Whatever." Ernie interrupted indifferently.

In one fluid movement Ernie – who didn't look too strong compared to Ron's Quidditch built frame – grabbed Ron's wrist, leaned in, and kissed him hard on the mouth.

He pulled away, breathing heavily. "Here's your wand back." He said, tossing it to him. "I thought me going after you might be a little traumatising, or scare you or something." Ernie said, sounding bitter. "But now I've changed my mind. I don't give up. And now he's been stopped, I doubt Nott will either. So I guess its game on."

He spun around, walking in the direction of the Hufflepuff common room - leaving Ron befuddled in the hallway.

"See you around Ron. And don't be surprised when it's me you're dating this time next week." Ernie called back to him over his shoulder.

Ron watched the determined Hufflepuff with strangely Slytherin like qualities walk away.

'_Maybe I should just walk around in full body __armour__._' Ron thought to himself, scowling. '_I never thought there would be a day I'd curse my irresistibleness._'

* * *

(a/n: Silly won-won. Anyways, review. Oh, and I wanna know what you all think of the ErnieXRonXTheo thing, if I should include more about them, or just leave it there. NOT going to be a threesome, by the way. And also, its just a background ship, so I wont write anything more explicit than what you've read above.)


	3. The past

(_A/n: Hey guys! So - Mostly this chapter is just to explain everything… ie the past- the defeat of Voldemort, Blaise and Hermione's relationship, blah. In between '0o0' signs are Hermione's memories. I would put it in italics like every other normal writer, but personally, reading italics in bulk annoys me (Bulk for me being 3 paragraphs plus). Btw, this chapter is very Herm-centric.  
_  
And, a little note -  
**Main Ship: **DracoXHermione. DMHG. Dramione. With a side of BZHG, cause Blaise is pretty and exotic (aka Italian). Then again, the asian bird flu is also exotic. Makes you wonder. **  
Minor ships:  
- **Ernie/Ron/Theo. Heh. Ron's so cute. **HOWEVER**, I'm thinking I might make the Ernie/Ron/Theo a side story for those who want to read it. That way anyone who's… homophobic, or just generally dislikes slash, can still read this story without … feeling uncomfortable? I'll just put in slight references to Ernie and Ron on the sly… :P hehe.**  
- **HPGW.

_Thanks to my lovely Beta Rhye, who is awesome. []  
_And, to u2ugly2nv, and anyone else wondering – I'm glad you asked. Don't worry, its soon – not this chapter, unfortunately. But the professors want Draco to be kissed by people most likely to wake him first, and, well, he wasn't exactly subtle when it came to his dislike of Gryffindors...... Anyways, soon. =)  
To scribbledoodles, - thanks! But, hmm. I hadn't really thought much bout Pansy. I plan to use her later after Draco wakes up, but nothing big. And with HEAA, well, yeah, you got them in a nutshell. So... Hopefully this chapter answers some of your queries on Herms past, but everything else... will be uncovered in the future... *dramatic suspense* ...Yep.  
To all reviewers – Thanks for taking the time to review. I'll update for you fast as I can. I'm glad your all enjoying it so far!

La de da. I should be studying right now, but I posted this instead.)

* * *

**Chapter Three**

- - -

_You caught me under false pretenses  
How long before you let me go?  
You set my soul alight  
Glaciers melting in the dead of night  
And the superstars sucked into the supermassive_

- - -

It had been three days since Hermione's encounter with Blaise in the library, and Draco Malfoy had yet to wake up. All the Slytherin girls in his year had kissed him, whilst Pansy remained at his side, the ever-dramatic widow. Now the Ravenclaw girls in his year were being filtered through.

In the great hall at lunch that Saturday, Hermione was just getting into her book on Ancient Runes and ignoring all the chatter of rumours about Malfoy's current state. Parvati giggled beside her, and elbowed her in the ribs. "Ow!" Hermione yelped, glaring at her. "What was that for?!"

Parvati pouted, and in a not-so-subtle move nodded towards the Slytherin table. "He's watching you again." Hermione sighed, glancing over to the Slytherin table, where Blaise Zabini stared back.

Rolling her eyes at Parvati's need for an explanation, Hermione looked away from him. "Are you sure it's me, Parvati? I mean, your hair looks _really_ good today."

That was all it took to get Parvati off her back. "You think so? Oh, you must be right!" She cooed, patting her sleek black hair with a superior air. "After all, why _he_ would be staring at _you_…"

"That's nice Parvati." Hermione replied automatically, already back to reading her book.

Parvati scrunched up her face indignantly. "Actually Hermione… I think he really is watching you."

Hermione sighed loudly, exasperated. "I'm going to study by the lake." She promptly shut her book and packed up her bag.

Parvati looked up at her imploringly. "But you haven't finished your sandwi-"

"Not hungry." She stomped out of the great hall, marching down a corridor. If Blaise could just stop staring at her… Even Harry and Ron (who knew a little about her and Blaise during the war) were starting to question her. And while it wasn't much of a surprise Harry had noticed, if Ron had, then… "Then everyone else will too." Hermione finished softly to herself.

She trudged outside to the grounds, heading for her favourite place by the lake – a large tree that kept the sunlight out of her eyes so she could read, and gave her a good view of the lake and the giant squid. Settling down against the tree trunk she looked out at the water.

Hermione's thoughts bought her back to her current problem: Blaise. The war last year had been hard on everyone. They would never forget how Sirius and Kingsley and others had died fighting for them.

Everyone had had a different job – Harry and especially Ron had been crucial in planning surprise attacks, bringing his skills in Wizards Chess onto the battle field. Luna and other students, when they weren't fighting Death Eaters, found safe places for people who needed to go into hiding. Most of the families that came to them needing to go into hiding were from Slytherin, and refused to help the dark side, but wouldn't risk helping the light. And then there was her job…

For months Hermione had been helping Harry find and destroy Hocruxes, until Snape, a double spy for the order, brought back with him two new spies. Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy. Blaises' family had gone into hiding, but Blaise had decided to help the order instead of join them. Draco stayed with Snape, and barely said a word. He didn't need to– his eyes spoke enough of the horror he'd been put through.

0o0

"…and then, if Neville takes some troupes and attacks from here, it might be just big enough of a distraction for Harry to get to Voldemort. So all you guys need to do is find the last two Hocruxes, and it's a done deal." Ron grinned at Harry and Hermione, looking worn out.

'_It sounds easy when he says it like that.'_ Hermione thought darkly. But they all knew the truth. How they had gotten this far was mostly luck, and Hermione didn't know if she – if _they_ – could bear seeing another one of their friends die.

Harry grinned back at Ron in boyish innocence, and clapped him on the back. "That's genius mate! You know, we might actually win this." He smiled, but his ghostly green eyes didn't. He barely slept anymore, and dark circles surrounded his eyes. When he did sleep, he had nightmares of Voldemort and the deaths of people they had lost. A month ago, when they'd lost Sirius, Harry had returned to them broken. Sirius's death had been too much for him. He had gotten depressed, refusing to talk to anyone, and his anger and sadness causing him to act stupidly on the battlefield.

Ginny nearly died as a result, only to be saved by Draco Malfoy - incidentally revealing that he was a traitor to the Death Eaters and his father, who Draco then was forced to kill - Harry realized what he was doing. Nearly losing Ginny brought on a heroic frenzy in Harry, and got him back to being himself. He wasn't as rushed, simply calculated and quick. Sometimes, before they did anything big, Hermione heard him mutter '_for Sirius'_ under his breath.

Someone knocked on the door and the trio looked up to see Draco in the doorway, shifting uncomfortably. "Dumbledore needs to see Granger. Now." He said quietly.

Hermione nodded bye to the boys, following Malfoy out of the room and down the hall to Dumbledore's unofficial meeting room. "Luck, Granger." He muttered, turning to leave. She had never seen someone so sad. She hesitated, and then stopped him. "Dra- Malfoy! Wait a moment."

He turned back to her curiously. "Yeah?"

Hermione paused and tried desperately to think of something, anything to say. She wanted to tell him he didn't have to worry, and that he was doing the right thing - That everything would be okay. But they both knew that was a lie. "…Sorry. Never mind. Thanks for bringing me here."

He sneered at her, suddenly back to the old Malfoy she remembered. "Whatever mudblood. Don't get the wrong idea; I only did it because the old crackpot asked."

She glared at him, hurt. "Shove off Malfoy! I was just saying thanks, but I can see being polite to you is pointless. So I'll stick to talking to you the same way you communicate – with rudeness and insults, you bloody prat!"

For a moment, she could've sworn she saw a flicker of hurt or guilt, a little remorse in his eyes, but then he scowled back at her and she was sure it was just a trick of the light. "…the way things should be…" he said, so quietly she barely heard it. And then he was gone, disappearing the way they had come. Hermione watched him go, and then turned to the door, bracing herself for bad news. She tapped sharply on the door, opening it when she heard the quick reply of 'Come in!' a moment later.

"Ah, Miss Granger, you're finally here." Dumbledore said, smiling warily. He sat at the head of a large table that was in the center of the room, and next to him was former Slytherin Blaise Zambini, who glanced up at her and frowned. He turned to Dumbledore, confused. "I thought you said you were pairing me with someone in the order who was exceptionally intelligent and experienced… I thought I'd be working with the werewolf or something…" He said rudely, ignoring her.

Dumbledore paused. "Well, that wasn't quite the introduction I was hoping to give you for your next assignment, Miss Granger, but now you know the basic details. Please, sit." He said, nodding to the chair next to him. Hermione nodded, sitting down next to him as he turned back to Blaise. "I assure you Mister Zambini, Miss Granger possesses the qualities I said, and more. One of the most brilliant witches of our time, if I may say so myself. Last week she even helped Snape find a cure for a new curse the Death Eaters have been using recently… simply brilliant."

Blaise narrowed his eyes at her. "So I've heard." He muttered. Hermione had always been first in their year, followed closely by Blaise. Blaise might have had some competition for second place by Draco, but Draco had been too carefree and lazy to try too hard, settling for over-average but not the best grades. "So, what's this about, Professor?" Hermione asked, straightening in her chair.

"I've got a new assignment for you. It's all your choice, of course, but the order needs you for something else now – Harry and Ron will destroy the Hocruxes, but I think you should work with Mr Zambini."

"What?!" Hermione looked at him like he was crazy. '_Which he might actually be.'_ She thought to herself.

"You are both the top students in your year, intelligent, cunning, loyal. I believe you two would be a great team." Hermione gaped at Dumbledore, refusing to believe what he was saying.

Blaise broke the silence. "Well, I guess as long as I'm doing something to help I don't mind having to work with her." He leaned back in his chair. "Beats working with Weasley." He muttered under his breath.

"Great!" Dumbledore said. "Hermione?" Hermione glared at Blaise once more, then nodded to Dumbledore, not to be outdone. "If he behaves." She said stiffly.

"Wonderful!" Dumbledore said, beaming at them. "Your first assignment will be tomorrow, I believe. We need you investigating the possible objects that could be the final Hocruxes. We've also had some leads lately, and when you're not researching, your job will be to track down leads and analyse them – see if they're real or a trap, and so on. You'll be investigating sites of Death Eater attacks – checking for any survivors, obliviating witnesses, that sort of thing. It will of course be explained in greater detail when you actually get the job. Everything you do will be confidential."

0o0

They had been a great team, Hermione remembered. Unpredictable. Quick. Careful. They were both intelligent, but did things differently, combining and fighting about their ideas and plans simply made their jobs go better – nothing was left uncalculated, and when they led a mission, they always came back to the order victorious. They argued a lot, but that was mainly the effect of old House rivalry.

After a week or two, they managed to get by without insulting each other. Another week and they managed a civil conversation.

The next week Hermione actually sought out and liked his company. She enjoyed the witty banter she got when they discussed their opinions on things – anything from Dumbledore's next crazy plan and politics in the wizarding world, to debates on the importance of Quidditch. They stayed away from the topic of war and death, and their time together became a bit of an escape from everything, the war, the unknown future…

0o0

"Hey! Granger!" Blaise beckoned to her from across the library, grinning brilliantly. "Come here, I think I've found something."

Hermione looked up from the book she had been skimming. "Call me by my first name and I might, Blaise." She replied.

"Vi preghiamo di venire qui bella," Blaise pouted and she laughed, oblivious to what he had said.

"Fine, what is it?" She asked, walking up to him and sitting in the chair next to him.

"You know that spell 'aestus estus'?" He asked, excited.

"The one that has Luna in bed with a temperature of a hundred degrees? It's amazing the spell lets her live, but god she must be in so much pain-"

"-Yeah, that one," Blaise interrupted in a hurry. "I think I found the counter charm!" He said.

Hermione read down the page quickly, a smile slowly forming on her face. "This is perfect Blaise!" She tackled him into a hug, laughing. "Let's go right now!"

She pulled back to see Blaise had stopped breathing and was staring at her hard. "Alright, _Hermione_." He breathed, leaning in. Hermione pulled away, looking around the room uncomfortably. "We… we should go now." She said, turning to the door. Blaise grabbed the book and followed her out of the room silently. He didn't mention what had happened, but was cold to her the rest of that week.

- - Still memories - -

This was supposed to have been their hardest mission, not to mention the most crucial so far, but they had just single-handedly defeated six Death Eaters, rescuing four captive wizards and witches who had been reported as missing for the last few months, and who Dumbledore said the recover of was vital. They were walking away from the Death Eater site now – it was in a muggle neighbourhood, so they were trying to find a safe place to apparate. The order was going to finish up everything, taking the witches and wizards into their hands so they could talk to Dumbledore. They were a bit shaken, but they had been lucky – the Death Eaters had merely locked them up, neglecting to torture them.

He laughed at her. "I never doubted us Hermione. But I have to say, it was my brilliance and speed that really saved us," he said, flexing his biceps and striking a pose, grinning when Hermione laughed at him.

"Your so-called brilliance nearly got you killed, I saved your butt." She retorted.

Blaise's smile widened. "Sure, sure. Keep denying it." He whistled a tune.

She stuck her tongue out at him, then pulled him into a alley they had just passed. "Mature." He snorted, rolling his eyes. He cast a quick look around the alley, and then looked back at her. "Not my kind of place, but hey – if that's what you're into…" he trailed off suggestively, flinching when she whacked him on the arm. "This is out of sight from muggles; we can apparate here." She said.

Blaise grabbed her hand. "On the count of three, one-" A familiar tug at his navel told him Hermione had ignored him. They landed on the soft grass at the back of the new headquarters for the order – when they had too many new members, Dumbledore had moved them to a hidden, isolated old manor in the countryside, next to a lake. Hermione stumbled as her feet touched the ground, falling forward onto Blaise. "Sorry…" She mumbled, going to get of him.

"Wait-" Blaise grabbed her wrist, pulling her back down and then rolling her over so that he was on top of her. "Hermione…" He cupped her face, his breathing harsh.

She shoved at his chest fruitlessly. "Blaise… I don't- I mean, it's just-" she babbled.

He leaned in a kissed her soundly on the lips, pulling back after about a second to judge her reaction. She stared at him, wordless. "So that's how to shut you up," Blaise joked, trying to calm her down. He looked at her and softened. "I like you Hermione… I have liked you for a while now. Would you go out with me?"

Hermione looked at him helplessly. "Blaise – it's the middle of a war. We are in the middle of a war! Starting a relationship now – I mean, we should be completely focused on helping Harry-"

Blaise interrupted her with righteous anger, his gaze intense. "That's right, we're in a war! I'm not likely to bloody forget about it anytime soon!" He growled, annoyed. "But doesn't that just mean that there's no better time than now, before there may be no time at all?"

Hermione paused, pensive, then nodded. "You're right. But that doesn't matter … I'm sorry. But I don't know how I feel about you."

Blaise was silent for a moment. "…That's okay." He said finally. "I know you too well, I sort of expected it. And, well – at least it's that you don't know how you feel, rather than you just see me as a brother or something. So… I'll wait for you. Tell me when you figure it out." He said gently.

0o0

Hermione was good at many things – spells, potions, giving advice, tactics and anything to do with problem solving. There was however, one thing – other than Quidditch – that generally had her baffled. And it was her feelings.

Sure, she knew she loved her family, her friends. She liked to think she could see how others felt, like Harry and Ginny. But when it came to love – or even a crush – and it involved _her_, she came up blank. She had thought once that she had liked Ron, but after two awkward dates and a few strange, emotionless kisses, they mutually thought it best they were friends. Blaise was different – pushy, rude, and narcissistic, but he also challenged her, something Ron and Harry refused to do. He was smart, handsome, and witty.

Finally, a week after his confession, Hermione and Blaise were on another mission that involved infiltrating a death eater site. They had managed to retrieve some information of future plans of the death eaters, when they were discovered. A vicious fight was started, and Hermione and Blaise fought for their lives against the six death eaters.

They managed to escape, but while they were running out of the site, the purple beam of a spell shot Blaise in the back. He cried out, falling and gasping for breath. Hermione stopped and ran back to him, trying to get him on his feet. "You… go on ahead. I'll catch up." He had wheezed, finding it difficult to breathe.

"I won't leave without you," she responded stubbornly, blocking more spells sent their way. She pulled him up and half dragged him out of the area – which had anti-apparation charms around it – then apparated them both to a desolate child's playground.

Blaise immediately collapsed on the ground, closing his eyes and not moving. "…Blaise? Blaise, are you alright?" Hermione asked attentively. He made no reply and she kneeled down next to him. He was deathly pale, and his pulse was weak. 'He's barely breathing,' she comprehended with horror. "Wake up, Blaise please…" She cried. She grabbed her wand, shouting out healing spells. Nothing helped, and she lay down next to him, pulling his lifeless body into a hug.

"Ow…" Blaise groaned, squirming weakly in her arms. "Can't you try to resist me just this once? I feel like all the bones in my body have been broken." He said quietly.

"You're alive!" She yelled tearfully, hugging him harder until he yelled. "Right, sorry." She said sheepishly, letting him lie back down and kneeling beside him. Hermione bit her lip, "Blaise… that was so scary. I thought I lost you for a moment there-"

"But you didn't." Blaise interrupted softly.

"But I could have! I can't loose you, not now. I don't know how to survive this war without you."

"We both know that's not true. We'll survive this war. And I won't die. Not now and certainly not here." Blaise told her gently. He paused for a moment, hesitant. "You know, there are times… when it's hard to go on. Why not just go to sleep and not wake up? …then I look at you. And I see why." Blaise told her gently.

Hermione whimpered, feeling his speech was a goodbye. "I can't loose you…" Hermione repeated.

"Hey! None of that! Where's the stubborn bookworm I know so well?" Blaise joked. In a more serious tone, he looked at her carefully. "I'm here, I'm safe. And I will stay with you, Hermione. I'm not going anywhere."

She kissed him gently on the cheek. "Thanks Blaise." She paused, fiddling with her wand as realisation sunk in and she wished she had figured it out earlier. "I-I really, really care about you. I have feelings for you." She stuttered. "So, if you still feel the same way… maybe we could… I don't know." She sighed, looking away from him, her cheeks burning.

Blaise sat up slowly, and tugged her too him, grinning. "Blaise-" Hermione yelped in surprise, letting him hug her. "But you're hurt!"

"I don't care! I'm so happy right now... Lets just stay like this a little longer…" He tightened his arms around me slightly. "Sei la mia." He whispered lightly. Hugging him back cautiously, Hermione murmured in his ear, "Let's go home."

0o0

Hermione and Blaise made their relationship no secret, but made sure to keep their duties first priority. It was impossible for them to go out together on dates, because with the war everything was shut down. The best they got were moments in the library or by the lake when they were free.

Ron and Harry accepted their relationship quickly, after a few death threats to Blaise. With the war, they had no time to act as overly-protective brothers, and they had a small truce that bordered on friendship with Blaise.

Only three days after Hermione and Blaise got together, Harry and Ron stumbled, bruised and worn, into the order's makeshift home - with good news. They had finally destroyed the last of the hocruxes, and were ready to fight Voldemort. The final battle would take place at Hogwarts. Voldemort was going there to make it his own fortress, not knowing of the orders triumph. They would take them by surprise at dawn in three days. They would spend the two days before that preparing.

0o0

Hermione shot another spell at Neville, who reflected it and shot a stunning spell back at her. Hermione cast a shield charm and the spell bounced back to Neville, who jumped out of the way in time. Panting, they both stopped. Hermione grinned at him and shook his hand. Neville groaned. "I need more practice. Can we have another duel some other time? I want to work on some spells." Hermione nodded, leaving the practice room. "You're doing great, Neville!" She called to him, before shutting the door.

Needless to say, Hermione Granger was having a very good day. To start, she slept in – then awoke to a somehow romantic and very delicious breakfast with Blaise – which he had cooked, due to Hermione's unfailing ability to cook up things that tasted generally bland or like poison. After a quick kiss ("Get a room!" Ron had called out) and a promise to meet up later, Blaise went to research on curses and Hermione left to help train with other order members.

She headed to the library, walking eagerly through the doors. The library looked empty, but Hermione shrugged and walked further into it. "Hello? Blaise?" She called. She heard a 'thump' and a loud yelp and ran down an aisle to where the noise came from, only to see a sheepish, topless Harry grinning innocently at her and a startled Ginny, glaring at the fallen book on the floor.

"Hey 'Mione." Harry said casually. "We were just- looking for a book. That could, ah, help. With, um, fighting dark magic, and uh, stuff. Yeah."

Hermione laughed. "Topless?" Harry flushed red, muttered incoherently under his breath and stared at the carpet in apparent fascination.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him and turned to Hermione. "Blaise isn't here. He said something about going to the lake."

"Thanks. I'll leave you two to… find those books you were talking about." Hermione said, smirking – a habit she had picked up from Blaise. She set out of the house, the sun shining across the lake, and headed to hers and Blaise favourite spot by the lake. She spotted him with his back turned to her, facing the lake, his black hair easily noticeable.

'That's odd,' she thought, frowning and walking a little faster. 'What's Angela Daonia doing there with him?' She felt the strange feeling off jealousy take over as she noticed how close the two were. She watched as Angela turned to Blaise and kissed him hard on the lips. Hermione bit her lip, restraining herself from pulling out her wand and hexing the girl, waiting for Blaise to push Angela off and tell her how he was with her – but he kissed back. Dejected, Hermione stumbled back a step, tears welling up in her eyes. "You… you bastard!" She yelled as the two pulled apart.

"Hermione wait!" Blaise yelled, shoving Angela away from him as Hermione ran. She ran along the lakeside, not stopping to look back until she could no longer here Blaise voice behind her. Slowing to a walk she glared at the scenery and the bright sun – how could it be a good day when she was so miserable?

She stopped, observing something black through the long overgrown grass. She approached it cautiously, pushing through the long grass and into what appeared to be a small alcove that looked over the sparkling lake. Then she saw Malfoy in a black cloak, sitting with his legs crossed, hunched over the lake. She sat down next to him silently, tears still running down her face. Malfoy himself said nothing to her, continuing to gaze at the serene setting in front of them.

Finally, Hermione broke the silence. "They all just _fuck_ you over, don't they?" She shook her head venomously, glaring out across the river as if at some unseen enemy. "…People are the reason for evil on this earth. It's always been like that, and it always will be. Hell, even if Harry defeats Voldemort, who's to say the next dark wizard won't succeed? We might as well give up, if we're just prolonging the inevitable. Evil is ubiquitous." She said bitterly.

Draco turned to her, speaking with surprising sureness, calm and impassive, as if to mask his sorrow – and while his voice may have been able to, his face gave him away. "I surprised at you, Granger." He said gently, not tauntingly or sarcastically. "I would have expected this from the Weasel, or even Potter – but I always thought you were the strong one, the one who kept the golden trio together." Hermione stared at him, surprised he was talking to her at all. He smiled sadly at her. "I guess we all have our moments." He sighed, pulling up his sleeve and revealing the pale skin of his wrist, marred by the ugly scar that was the dark mark.

Hermione shivered, brushing her fingers over it, causing Malfoy to flinch away. "I'm sorry… does it hurt?" She mentally slapped herself for the stupid question, but the blonde boy beside her merely nodded.

"More than anything you have to go through, I hope." he paused, carefully tugging his sleeve back down. "…I've seen… done so much evil. I've wanted to die from the horror I've lived in. But I thought you knew better. Of course when we defeat Voldemort more evil will come. With humans comes good, and with good comes evil – it'll always be like that. But… things can get better. I'm sure – no, I know there is more good than evil in this world. As terrible as evil is, good will always be stronger – it's greatest weakness is also it's greatest strength; love. Merlin, I sound like a bloody Hufflepuff." He said, letting out a humourless laugh. "But, love saved our Saviour Potter, and life without love is the result of Voldemort." He stopped to look up at the sky.

Hermione finally spoke up, her tears now gone and replaced with a look of speculation. "What happened to you, Malfoy? I'm sure that wasn't always your outlook on life…"

Not quite answering her question, he replied, "There are two kinds of evil people in this world. People who do evil things, and people who see evil things being done but don't stop them. And I refuse to be either." They fell back into a comfortable silence, and then Hermione edged closer to him, surprising him with a hug. "Granger – What-"

"Thank you…" She whispered into his shoulder. "Just- just let me lean on you. I'll be fine in a moment."

He awkwardly patted her on the head. "Don't get too used to this Granger. This is my sanctuary, my place away from the rest of the world – I don't want to ruin it by being cruel to you. But that doesn't stop me from being so outside of this place… just a warning."

Hermione laughed. "I won't forget this Malfoy," she smiled at him, and at the notion he froze in surprise, and then smiled back. "If you ever need someone to be there for you – I mean, I might not be able to say the right thing, but I can be there for you. I swear."

Draco smiled at her wirily. "Maybe I'll hold you to that." He hesitated, "…I don't know what was bothering you before Granger, but don't give up again. It's not very Gryffindor of you."

"How ironic - a Slytherin beseeching me on the ways of Gryffindors." She paused. "See you around, Malfoy." She headed back to the order's headquarters, avoiding Blaise, and practicing spells with renewed energy.

0o0

Harry defeated Voldemort after an intense duel, and many death eaters were caught. They had been celebrating in the wreckage that was the Great hall, and Hermione had quietly disappeared to be alone. She had wandered down the grounds, but had been stopped by Blaise. _"We need to talk." _He had told her.

"No, we don't." Hermione responded monotonously. "We're over, there is nothing you can say to change that. You cheated on me, and I refuse to be with someone who will treat me that way." She paused, giving him a moment to deny it, to explain himself- but he simply looked guiltily at the ground. "And now that the wars over, things will go back to how they should be."

"But Hermione-" He stopped at her glare, running a hand through his hair in frustration. "...Fine. We'll do this your way. What do you want to happen, princess?" He sneered, his old Slytherin self shining through.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "We forget anything that ever happened between us during the war. We pretend we weren't together. Things go back to normal, Gryffindors and Slytherins go back to being rivals. That's it."

Blaise stayed silent for a while, seeming pensive. "It's your call, _bello_. I'll pretend, but I won't forget. And neither will you." He gave her a grim smile of defeat, then his face went back to a passive mask, and he smirked at her. "See you around, Granger."

- - -

It was like they had never been together. They went back to ignoring and not noticing each others presence. Live at Hogwarts went back to normal for the golden trio – only this time, they didn't have Voldemort hanging over them as a continuous threat.

Hermione grabbed her book, determined to push the past from her mind. Repressing memories had been working so well for her. 'The ancient runes found in…' Hermione stared intently, absorbing the information, until she sensed someone watching her. She looked up, noticing Blaise coming towards her. He stopped a couple of meters from her.

"Can we talk?" He asked gently.

- - -

Up in the highest room of the tallest tower, Albus Dumbledore watched, worried, as Draco Malfoy moaned in pain, tossing in his sheets.

* * *

(a/n: Translations: Look 'em up yourselves, or remain forever curious. I'm frustrating, yay.

Anyways, **R**eview!! Especially you basta- I mean, beautiful little children who simply put this story on alert. I'm trying to write this story in a way that pleases everyone or at least the majority. Reviews kind of help me decide whether or not to do certain things with the plot. They're also not bad for motivation and any ego-boosting I may need =D

**AND** by the way, now that the past has been covered, you can expect _Draco_ – YAY - to be waking up soon.

Please tell me if you'd rather have Ernie/Ron/Theo as a side story or in this story. Erm, obviously, if I do it as a side story adjacent to this story, it'll include more info on them. Could do both… Hmm.)


	4. Sleeping Beauty

(a/n: Rawr! Thanks reviewers and Rhye-bread. You are all lovely.  
Now, for this chapter, there is an appearance from someone who's been missing a while. YAY- cue Draco, bouncing ferret extraordinaire.)

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* * *

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Chapter Four

**- - -**

_Princess Rest  
We'll talk in our sleep  
But I wouldn't dare to sit too close  
I can't be your Prince  
Though your secrets are safe  
I am the mirror that can't let go  
With every breath And every intake  
Tip-toe further away  
Further away from his mistakes  
I'm no savior; I'm no saint..._

**- - -**

Hermione glared up at Blaise, putting her book aside. She walked over to him quickly, grapping his arm and pushing him to the tree, out of sight from students strolling around the grounds near the lake.

"I haven't even explained myself and you're already all over me. I'm glad you've finally come to your senses. Are you sure you want this to happen here, with all those other students so close by?" He asked rhetorically, a cheeky grin on his face.

Hermione grabbed the collar of his shirt roughly, her face stern. "We need to talk."

He laughed. "So talk."

Hermione huffed. "Stop- stop staring at me, w-"

"Don't you miss me at all?" He cut her off.

Her glare softened a little. "Blaise, don't…"

"Why can't you date me, Hermione? What's so wrong with the idea? We were good together." He leaned in slightly, breathing softly on her face, and ran his hands through her smooth brown curls. She inhaled sharply, barely breathing, but not stopping him. She felt him smile. "I know you're definitely attracted to me, so it can't be that…"

She quickly pulled away from him. "I saw you with that- that girl, Angela, by the lake. You know I saw you." She said, her voice hollow.

Blaise shifted uncomfortably. He glanced up at her. "It's kind of inane," He took a deep breath. "I was at our spot by the lake; Angela came over. We were just talking – mindless small talk… and then, she told me – told me she loved me." Blaise said hesitantly, refusing to meet Hermione's eyes.

"But, I told her I was sorry, but I already had someone. And, she… she cried a little, and said that it was fine. That no one cared for her, her parents were pureblood Slytherins who beat her and disowned her when she was put in Hufflepuff, that everyone hated her and called her a slut, so why should I be any different? And, Hermione-" He finally looked her in the eye.

"I felt sorry for her. I tried to comfort her. Then, she told me that- that we might die tomorrow. And just for a while, to forget everything, and let her do what she wanted. And then she kissed me. And, I admit I didn't break it, but I didn't kiss her back, Hermione. But- I'm sorry I even let her do anything, I just… I don't know. "" He cursed, glaring at the ground again.

"So… you let her do that out of pity?" She asked carefully, watching him intently.

He nodded. "I'm sorry… but, it will never happen again, I swear it, _bella_. Just give me one date to prove it, please…" His eyes darkened, and he stopped fidgeting, watching her with the same intensity as he had earlier that day.

She stared back, passive. He closed his eyes and breathed in loudly. "One date Hermione! I'll be a perfect gentleman. You'll at least get more stimulating conversation than when you're with Potter and Weasley."

She cracked a smile, and when she spoke her voice was quiet. "One date. But to some conditions – first being no more insulting my friends."

He smiled, a genuine smile, and he looked so innocent and childlike Hermione almost hugged him. "Just like old times. Done, I won't say a word against them. You won't regret this, I swear. So, this Saturday then? I'll owl you where we can meet later?"

She smiled back at him, his grin becoming contagious. "Sure."

Just then, a girlish shriek came from the grounds outside the entrance to the castle. Hermione and Blaise turned to the noise, distracted, looking for the girl who could've screamed that loud – then they saw Ron, running towards the castle, followed closely by Theodore Nott. Ron screamed again, followed by a string of curses that made Hermione shake her head fondly, and glance curiously at Nott. Nott called out behind Ron, running furiously to catch up with him. "Wait! Come back Weaselette! We were made for each other!" Blaise and Hermione exchanged confused glances, but shrugged it off. Ron would be fine.

They turned back to each other, and in one fluid movement Blaise grabbed Hermione and swung her around joyfully. He put her down and walked off quickly. "Bella addio!"

She laughed. "What are you doing?" She called after him.

"Going to figure out how to impress you!" He called back over his shoulder.

She watched him go with a stupid grin on her face.

- - -

"This is terrible." McGonagall breathed, a worried expression on her face. She turned to Dumbledore, who stood beside her. "What could possibly cause this to happen to him?"

Dumbledore peered down at Draco through his half-moon spectacles.

Draco had become even more beautiful, he was like a deathly alluring work of art – one that had you hypnotized by its beauty. His perfect blonde hair framed his pale face, and his features stood out, red lips and long lashes alarmingly elegant.

This was not, however, what Minerva McGonagall was referring to. "Even Madame Pomphrey couldn't work out what was wrong, Albus!"

Angelic though he was; Draco also looked like he had caught his death. He tossed and turned in his sheets, gasping and moaning in his sleep. His pallor was too pale, unnatural. A small ring of thorny roses had grown around him, and Dumbledore had just managed to temporarily displace it so they could get to Draco. Dumbledore placed a hand on Draco's forehead, gravely noting the high fever he was running.

"It will be alright, Minerva. I have already spoken with the Happily Ever After association. From what they have told me, everything will be fine. At the moment, however, young mister Malfoy is suffering from continuous nightmares, and a sore heart. The association believe most likely that the girl he is waiting for is being… wooed by another. Draco may be unconsciously aware of this through the connection he has with that girl. All this means, Minerva, is that we must speed up his awakening, so that Draco will be pulled from that nightmare world, before he gets any worse."

Minerva took one last glance at Draco, before nodding. "I understand, Albus. We'll have Gryffindors kissing him by Saturday – although hopefully it shouldn't get that far."

- - -

Earlier that day…

Katie Bell speed past Ritchie Coote as the blonde head attempted to stop her scoring. "Aha! Take that, Ritchie!" She shrieked happily as the quaffle went through the hoop unobstructed. Ron made a face and covered his ears whilst Ritchie feigned horror.

"Hey, Ron, look out-" Ron barely registered the look on Katie's face before something hard thwacked him in the back of his head.

"Omph!" He fell off his broom onto the soft grass only three metres beneath him, unscathed but tense and tired. He sighed, pulling himself up and grabbing his floating broom. "Thanks, Dean." He muttered sarcastically to his grinning friend.

"Course, any time won-won." Dean batted his eyes at him and repeating Lavenders old nickname for him.

Ron scowled. "Well, that was a pointless practice. I should've known without Harry here all that would happen is you two flirting a lot." Ritchie shrugged and flicked imaginary lint off his shoulders, coolly regarding his nails, and Dean simply grinned cheekily, tsk-ing, and replying, "Yeah, you should have."

Ron trudged across the Quidditch pitch away from the three of them towards the boys' locker room. "Bloody… useless… ignorant…" He muttered to himself. He proceeded to place his broom in the closet and had a quick hot shower.

Shivering from the change in temperature as he stepped out, he changed quickly into his boxers, frowning as he heard approaching footsteps. 'Must be Dean and Ritchie… that was quick, maybe Katie finally told them she's dating Wood…' He snickered to himself. 'Serves them right, the twats.'

A gasp from the new comer's direction proved him wrong. Ron whirled around to face the lanky form of Theodore Nott. Nott stood frozen in place, slack jawed as he stared at the red heads body.

Ron made an incoherent strangled noise from the back of his throat, grabbing his clothes and backing away from the taller boy slowly.

Nott snapped out of it, leering hungrily over his body. "It's… better than I thought. You're a god."

Ron gave him a withered look, pulling his pants on quickly. "Of course I am. It's a shame to deprive any _woman_ of me."

(a/n: Giggle. Right.)

Nott grinned. "I was exaggerating, but… you really aren't too bad." His eyes lingered on places they shouldn't before he looked back up at Ron's disturbed expression.

"You sure know the way to a mans heart. Insults, molesting and torment. Forget it, Nott, I'M NOT GAY." He stressed, pulling his arms through his school shirt.

Nott grunted, distracted by Ron's torso. "Yeah… that's nice…"

"Bloody hell, are you paying attention to me? Stupid Slytherin bastard…" Ron muttered.

Nott's eyes snapped back up to Ron's face and he quickly crossed the short length between them, pressing Ron up against a locker as the red head let out an audible gulp.

"Heh." Nott grinned, tugging Ron's shirt off him despite his protests, and feeling in his pockets. "Maybe I am a bastard, but stupid? Well, I'm not the one who's been trapped wandless twice by the enemy. What does that say, eh Weasel?"

Ron scrunched his face up indignantly. _Knew I should have left it in my pocket_. "Yeah? Well… well… I'm still not gay, and there's nothing you can do about it! So ha! I win." His voice went up a pitch as Nott leaned closer to him and he winced away.

Nott cocked an eyebrow. "Interesting. It seems every time I come close to you, you enter a fit of near hysteric madness. You must be in a lot of denial." He leered at Ron. "I think you like me; you're just too ashamed to admit it!" He grinned proudly. "So, Weasel, I guess that means _I_ win."

"You're mad. Utterly mad." Ron shook his head. "Now please get away. You're invading my bubble. If my bubble pops, there's no telling what I might do!" He growled threateningly.

"Don't worry, Weaslette. You don't have to be ashamed, no one has to know. Unless…" Nott's brow furrowed and a creepy smirk followed his words. "Unless- you want to date me."

Ron looked flabbergast. "No I do not- have you been listening to me at all?!"

"Oh Weas- Ronnie, you should have just said so! I'm not really into commitment, but for you? I'm willing to try."

Ron fought the urge to slap him. "I- you-" He muttered something about stupid Slytherins and selective hearing.

Nott grinned; his arms on the wall behind them either side of Ron's head. "Is that a yes? Oh Ronnie, we're going to be so happy together!" He lowered his head meaningfully, his eyes closing slightly as he leaned in. "Ron," he breathed huskily.

Ron yelped and pushed hard against his chest, tumbling forward and out of the Slytherins grasp. In a mad dash the red-head grabbed his clothes and sprinted from the changing room, followed closely by Theodore Nott, who remained undeterred. "Ron- come on! Just give me a chance! Wait!"

Ron let out a high-pitched - '_but still manly'_ he told himself – shriek as Nott nearly grabbed his wrist.  
"Never!" Ron yelled back at Nott over his shoulder, passing a bewildered Hermione and Blaise, who stared at the two like an exhibition at the zoo.

He screamed again as a couple of first years obstructed his path, nearly tripping him. "God dammit, why the bloody fucking hell – this is bloody…" he cursed loudly, his words causing the first years to blush at the crude language.

"Come back Weaselette!"

Ron rushed into the castle at full speed, stumbling over his feet and nearly hitting the ground before strong arms pulled him up and a curious Ernie glanced at him, his expression changing to that of satisfaction as he noticed Ron's lack of clothing.

His lips twitched upwards at the corners, and he smiled at him amused, pulling him out of the middle of the hallway as Nott screeched to a halt when he saw the two.

Ernie wound an arm possessively around Ron's waist as Nott glared at him in distaste. Ernie simply cocked an eyebrow at him and pulled Ron closer. "Mine." He said simply, covering Ron's mouth with his in a hard kiss.

Nott growled, but made no attempt to pull them apart. "Fine, Hufflepuff." He glared as Ernie pulled away from a dazed Ron to grin at him triumphantly. "You won today. But don't expect to be so lucky next time." His gaze switched to Ron. "Be seeing you soon, Ronnie."

Ron stuck his tongue out at Nott's retreating figure. "Yeah, you better run! …And don't call me Ronnie!"

Ernie chortled next to him. "Well, I dare say, that was quite fun."

"For you, maybe." Ron pulled out of Ernie's grasp. "Not so much for me… why are you grinning?"

"You owe me." Ernie said smugly, crossing his arms across his chest. "I saved you from Nott."

"You didn't save me! You just changed who I'm running from!"

"Ah, but wouldn't you rather be in a chase that involves you and me rather than you and him?"

"…"

"…Never mind. Tell you what, Ronald. Why don't we go to Hogsmeade together next weekend? Just as friends of course." Ernie winked. "You can tell me all about how distressing that Nott fellow is."

"No. Thank you. Er, I've got, um … people to do, things to see. You know how it is." Ron waved his hand casually.

"Erm. Actually, Ron, I believe the muggle phrase is things to do, and people to see," Ernie grinned wider, ruffling Ron's hair affectionately. "But I'm sure you can change your plans. Wouldn't want Harry and Hermione knowing about these… situations now, would you?"

Ron gaped at him, momentarily stunned. "Are you blackmailing me?"

Ernie ignored his question. "So it's a date? Wonderful. Meet me here at eleven." He shoved his hands in his pockets and wandered off, laughing as he heard Ron curse behind him. _Did he just curse his 'godlike appearance'?_ Ernie chortled_. How adorable. Hannah had been right, too. Persistence and blackmail – whilst being typical Slytherin techniques – really pay off._

- - -

By Friday night, the Hufflepuff's had been sorted through. The only house left was Gryffindor, which had most of the houses in an uproar – how could Draco Malfoy's supposed love be a Gryffindor? Rumours and theories that a girl from Ravenclaw or Slytherin had been skipped spread through the castle.

Saturday morning the Gryffindor girls, starting with seventh years, were lining up to kiss Draco. Since her encounter with Blaise, Hermione had completely avoided seeing the sleeping beauty, and had found that if she thought of Blaise, it was easier to get Draco off her mind. She was meeting Blaise that day for lunch at Hogsmeade, but currently was finishing off the last of her charms homework in the common room, next to a cosy Harry and Ginny, and a distraught Ron.

Harry and Ginny giggled and snuggled closer on the couch, ignoring the looks of disgust Ron sent them. They were whispering conspiratorially with each other, sneaking occasional glances at Hermione. Hermione caught them every time, beaming back at the couple happily, humming a tune under her breath as she finished her charms homework.

She seemed to be glowing, her caramel eyes lit up as she smiled to herself. She twirled a curl between her fingers, her finally tamed brown hair – which had miraculously improved as the years past – shining and silky, curls running down her shoulders smoothly.

Ginny snuck another look at her, grinning back as Hermione caught her again. "Anything you want to tell us, 'Mione?"

Hermione packed up her things, pushing the complete homework aside. "No. Should there be?" She replied, arching an eyebrow at her inquisitively.

Ginny laughed. "Please, you practically scream the words 'I know something you don't know'. Wanna share? I thought you told me everything." Ginny said, pouting.

Hermione just smirked at her. "Sorry Gin, nothing important to tell." Hermione said, giggling at Ginny's attempt to look mad.

"Fine, don't tell me now- I'll get it out of you later, missy!" Ginny sassed as Hermione simply waved her off.

"Sure you will. Anyway, I'm off." Hermione replied, heading for the portrait exit.

Ron turned from Harry and Ginny to cock his head at her enquiringly. "Where you off to, Herm?"

Without turning back Hermione stepped out of the room into the corridor. "Meeting Blaise for a date."

She closed the portrait just as Ginny shrieked. "I knew it!"

- - -

The sky grumbled loudly above them, warning the teenage couple of inevitable rain. The rhythmic thud of their footsteps on the pavement quickened as they moved towards the castle.

Blaise smiled a disarmingly charming smile that made Hermione beam back at him. He gingerly took hold of her hand, exhaling in relief when she didn't pull away from him.

"So, did you have fun?" He asked softly, as they walked into the entrance together.

Hermione paused, mocking a thoughtful look, noticing Blaise tense.

"Well… I don't think I've ever seen so much pink in one place. And those half-naked singing midgets dressed as cupids were a bit much – we established long ago that I'm not a paedophile, Blaise. They didn't quite do it for me. And having everything – dishes and all – heart shaped seemed pointless. Madame Puddifoot's is quite a strange place…" She trailed off as she saw the look of doom and depression on Blaise's face.

"All-in-all, it wasn't so bad." She teased.

He relaxed, his nervousness disappearing. "Wasn't up to your standards though, Miss Granger? That's not good enough. I think," he leaned in to whisper conspiratorially to her, "we'll need to do this date thing again. And if we don't get it right then, maybe another time after that."

"I don't know, Blaise." She bit her lip in mock concentration. "It could take a lot of dates to get it right, if ever! Are you really willing to devote yourself to something that could go on for so long?"

He looked at her, his face serious, but his eyes betraying the humour behind them. "Miss Granger," he arched his back and appeared debonair. "A sacrifice though it may be, I'm willing to keep at it for as long as you are." He declared.

All sarcasm and humour left his face, and he looked her in the eye, his hand tightening around hers. "So, hopefully we can spend forever getting it right, _bella_."

Hermione looked away; tugging her hand out of his, and ignoring the stung look on his face. "I had fun, Blaise; thank you."

He nodded. "Does this mean you agree to start over?" He asked hopefully.

Hermione looked away from him. "I- Blaise… I need to think about things first. I don't want to commit to anything before I'm ready. It's not fair to you."

"I don't mind," Blaise said quickly, regretting it as Hermione shot him a glare. "Right, I understand. Take as much time as you need. Until you make up your mind, you know where to find me. By the way, are you free this coming Friday night?" He asked casually.

"Yes, why?" Hermione asked inquisitively.

"It's a surprise. Just keep that night free, okay? Goodnight, bello." He said, turning and moving in a graceful swagger Hermione knew only he could pull off. She scowled after his retreating back. "I don't like surprises! I like knowing things!"

He laughed at the end of the corridor. "Trust me, no ones ever questioned your thirst for knowledge. Patience is a virtue, Hermione." He called out to her, before disappearing around the corner.

"Hmph." Hermione muttered, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Stupid bloody Slytherin." Only, for once, she didn't mean it.

- - -

Up in his tower, Draco Malfoys heart panged. He writhed in his sheets, even the best of cooling charms unable to help his uncontrollably high fever.

"Wait… wai-" he murmured, his perfection ruined only by the light sheen of sweat that covered him.

In his dream, a voice called to him. He saw a figure – an angel with long brown curls laughing and running away from him.

Looking behind him, Draco saw a bloody field of war and death – it was where he had killed his father.

Blood was everywhere, as common as water after rain. Corpses littered the ground, the foul stench of the rotting deceased making Draco sick. The sky was dark, grey clouds swirling above to create sinister shadows and the illusions of things that seemed the embodiment of evil. In the middle of it all stood his father, sneering at him. "Pathetic." He said, turning his nose to Draco.

"I'll deal with you, boy. You're useless, A mudblood, Draco, how could you have feelings for a mudblood? Let alone Potters _whore_. I refuse to acknowledge you as my son." He upturned his nose, his features turning to that of disgust.

"Father," Draco whimpered, cowering.

"Get out of my sight!" The older Malfoy bellowed, before his figure morphed into Voldemort.

"Absolute power corrupts…" The figure hissed, Voldemort morphing slowly into a demon. The demon smirked familiarly at Draco, its red eyes peering through blonde hair. It was Draco – a corrupt, evil Draco, as he could have been had he not chosen light during the war.

The real Draco groaned, unable to look away. "Leave me alone." He begged.

The demon Draco giggled, a high-pitched sound that sounded similar to the screech of nails on a chalkboard. "I don't think so…" the demon hissed. "I'm all you have left. All the others left you, abandoned you. No one cares for you." Draco shivered, and the demon Draco smiled malevolently. "I'm all you have left." It said again.

Suddenly it cackled gleefully. "Look, Draco." The demon hissed sardonically, pointing behind Draco.

Draco turned cautiously, nervous at having the demon out of his sight. The sun shone down on the field of flowers in front of him, and a light breeze tossed the smell of spring across the vast plane. Draco inhaled shakily, recuperating slightly by the presence of such warmth, happiness, joy - even the flowers seemed cheerful, the sunflowers glowing in the sunlight.

And then he noticed why the demon was so happy.

"No!" He gasped, his hand reaching out in vain as the angel from before ran, laughing – a bubbly, happy laughter, so different from that of the demon– into the arms of a dark, shadowy devil. The devil smirked cruelly as the angel hugged it, its claws clutching and digging into the angels sides forcefully possessive. It kissed the angel, the kiss like death sucking out life. The angel seemed suddenly helpless, hanging limp in the devils vice-like grip.

"No!" Draco growled again, gritting his teeth, his hands balled into tight fists by his sides. He was frozen on the spot, willing his feet to move forward but unable to move his legs. The dark shadow of the devil paused, dragging the unconscious angel impossibly closer to it – making it impossible for Draco to see the anonymous angels face - and looking up, straight at Draco.

The light cast away some of the shadows, but did not rid the devil of its evil aura. Red eyes met his silver ones, and a grin of understanding formed on the devils face. Draco finally saw who the devil was. His best friend, Blaise, dug his fingers harder into the angel, and smirked back at him, his horns glinting in the sun.

He nodded his head at Draco. "This is where I belong. This is what I control." He let out a short laugh. "And there – that is where you belong. In the dark. Alone. Six… feet… under… me." He said the last part slowly, sadistically, enjoying the broken look in Draco's eyes that increased with each word he said.

The demon Draco giggled again, appearing behind him, placing a casual, friendly hand on his shoulder. "Horrible, isn't it?" The demon whispered in his ear, as Draco continued to watch the scene before him – watch the devil take merciless advantage of the angel, bruising her, hurting her, using her… Draco's eyes narrowed in absolute fury, as he tried to ignore the demon on his shoulder.

The demon moved to his next ear. "But all that could change you know. That could be you, there in the light, with _her_… We should be there, not him. He doesn't deserve it. He hasn't been through as much as we have." The demon said, voicing his thoughts.

"And we could give her so much more – give her what she deserves… he'll just drag her down, taint her, _ruin_ her…" The demon Draco alleged, now placing both hands on Draco's shoulders. Draco could feel its warm breath on the back of his neck as it continued to whisper to him. "Just give in to me. Let me take over. Then I- I mean, we- will get what we deserve. To live in the light, with her caring about us."

Draco turned to his demon self. The demon form attempted an innocent smile, a red halo of smoke appearing above his head. "Really, Draco. When you've got nothing, what have you got to loose? So, what do you say?" The demon stuck its hand out. "Have we got a deal?"

Draco hesitated, looking behind him at Blaise and the angel.

"Draco!" The demon Draco growled, calling back Draco's attention. Draco's eyes widened in uncertainty at the demon, and once again it attempted a calming, innocent smile – to much avail. It seemed awkward on its face, as if the demon didn't know how to smile kindly.

"Deal, Draco?" The demon asked again, its hand still out stretched.

Draco looked down at the hand in uncertainty. What did he have to loose?

* * *

(a/n: Don't look for it, I purposely left out if Draco took the deal or not. Actually, might as well tell you that whilst he didn't accept, he didn't decline either. He hasn't made up his mind.

Reviews make me happy! And a happy Sara means a quicker update =P Yes, I did just sort of bribe you. What you gonna do bout it?

Also, was in the middle of writing, and realized I was going quite far from the closest to realism HP fanfictions get, and into a parody, so I had to delete some things. _Here's a __deleted scene from this chapter:  
_  
Nott grinned. "I was exaggerating, but… you really aren't too bad." His eyes lingered on places they shouldn't before he looked back up at Ron's disturbed expression. "Go out with me, Weasel."

Ron glared at him, rolling his eyes. "You sure know the way to a mans heart. Insults, molesting and torment. Forget it, Nott, I'M NOT GAY." He stressed, pulling his arms through his school shirt.

"Eh," Nott shrugged, "I'll make a homo of you yet."

"…"

"Join me Ron. I have candy… down my pants. MWA HAHAHA cough splutter."

"…"

"Please Weaselbee, be my beautiful wifey-wife. Make me the happiest man on earth."

"…Er, Nott, are you on something?"

Nott flashed him a sleazy grin. "Not yet. Do you want me to be?"

"Wha-" Ron started. '_Ron_.' A voice that was not his or Nott's called him.

"What?" Ron asked, confused.

"I want your babies, Ron." Nott continued.

'_Ron_.' A voice from… somewhere called out again. '_Ron, wake up_!'

Up in the Gryffindor towers, Ron Weasley woke with a start. "Nooo! You can't have my babies!"

Harry gave him an odd look. "You were having a nightmare, mate. What, spiders wanted your children?"

"Oh," Ron said, eyeing his surroundings in relief, "Thank Merlin."

…._That's all, folks_. La, de, da.)


	5. Jab

(**a/n:** Oh my. Well, the last chapter I sort of just updated without quite thinking it through, as… well, all my exams and whatnot are finished, so I went to this drinks thing more out of obligation to my friend than anything (twas kinda gay-ish), came home tipsy, giggled at my computer and decided to update. I was still fine-tuning that chapter, so, oops. Just, you know, if some of that chapter seems odd, then your probably reading bits I added when I wasn't quite the epitome of sober. Like, the 'deleted scene.' Cough. … Also, this is most definitely DMHG, don't worry. I'm just making it a little harder for Draco =P)

- - -

_You ripped my heart out of my chest,  
Wrapped it tightly around my wrist.  
And made me finally realize that  
Fairytales don't exist__  
_

**- - -**

Chapter 5  
  
Hermione was rudely awoken by the sound of curtains being pulled back and the shrill voice of Professor McGonagall. "Morning, Miss Granger." Light hit her face and she groaned, immediately raising a hand to shield her eyes.

"…Professor? What are you doing here?" She asked groggily, sitting up in her bed. Her eyes bugged out of her head as she checked the time on her watch. "…At seven in the morning on a Sunday?!"

Evidently, Hermione was not a morning person.

"I don't like it anymore than you, Miss Granger, but unfortunately, you missed your call to… see Mister Malfoy yesterday." The Professor snapped back tersely.

Hermione winced and turned away from the light. "That was yesterday? I wasn't aware the other houses had been done so fast… Sorry Professor, I was in Hogsmeade."

"It's fine. Yes, we're trying to get everyone through quicker, as it seems Mister Malfoys condition is… well, you'll see for yourself."

"Mmph." Hermione grunted in reply, the sleep affecting her brain and causing it not to function properly, so that she didn't register what the older woman was saying.

"Right, I'll be waiting for you downstairs. Hopefully you'll be more articulate then." The Professor muttered, stalking from the room swiftly.

Hermione got dressed haphazardly, throwing clothes on. She jogged down the stairs and followed the Professor out of the common room, yawning, still not fully awake.

"…Where are we going again?" Hermione asked, as they climbed yet another set of stairs.

"Miss Granger! Did you not pay attention to anything I said?" McGonagall huffed. "We are on our way to Mister Malfoy, so that you can kiss him, and we can get your name – the last sixth year Gryffindor girls name, because of your absence – off the list." She ranted.

Hermione stopped abruptly, realization sinking in. "Eep," she let out, quickly turning to escape back down the way she came, until McGonagall grabbed her arm firmly and started half dragging her up the dull stone stairs. "I'm not going! You can't make me!"

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes. Hermione was her favourite student. And the only girl so far who hadn't swooned at the thought of kissing Draco Malfoy. '_Although_,' the Professor thought, '_it would make things much easier for me if she was as obsessed as the rest of them.'_ "I am aware of your dislike for the boy… I myself am not very fond of him, but it is required that until he wakes up, every girl in the school must kiss him." This only made Hermione struggle harder.

"Miss Granger, please! Apparently you are not a morning person. Think rationally. A quick peck and its over. You don't have to worry about anything happening. You're far too good for him." Professor McGonagall stated, not sounding at all like she had just been biased or insulted a student whilst complimenting her, merely sounding like it was a fact. "So please, stop acting like a child, this isn't my fault. Get it over and done with now."

Hermione scrunched up her face, but drooped in defeat. "Sorry, Professor. I over-reacted. I just… can't function in the mornings… Sorry." She said sheepishly. She inhaled deeply. "I'm awake now."

"Really, now… How do you usually function in the morning?"

"I tell Harry and Ron off for whatever they've done… there's always something… then read the daily post?" Hermione said uncertainly.

McGonagall sighed, and they walked up the last of the steps to Draco's room, where Dumbledore stood outside the closed door. "Ah, finally." The old man sighed. "I'm afraid Draco's state has worsened."

- ~ Draco's Dream ~ -

"Well, Draco," Draco's demon twin said impatiently, "what's it going to be?"

Draco stuttered, unsure. "I- I…"

- ~ -

Dumbledore opened the door, and Hermione watched in surprise as the room was impossible to see into due to the over grown bushes of roses and thorns.

Dumbledore shook his head slightly. "Again, I see. These grow at an amazing rate around Mister Malfoy's bed – some sort of protection mechanism," he said, producing his wand and pointing at the mess, "I'll destroy it now."

Hermione nodded politely, walking up to it. As she did, the bushes slowly receded, until Hermione had walked all the way over to Draco's bed and the bushes had completely disappeared.

She shrugged it off, figuring that Dumbledore must have done it, not noticing the shared looks of amazement between Dumbledore and McGonagall, or McGonagall whispering "Dear god no! Not her! Not a Gryffindor! That poor, poor girl!"

Hermione gazed down at Draco.

He was as breathtaking as he was her last visit – Even though he was tossing and turning in his sheets, mumbling incoherent things - maybe even more so. His angelic, perfect face was flushed slightly, its paleness framed with perfect blonde hair. Soft red lips stood out on his face, making Hermione wince at the temptation they gave her. Red rose petals were scattered across his white bed around him, giving a dramatic effect.

"He's beautiful… urgh." Hermione muttered to herself, disgusted.

- ~ -

"I don't know…" Draco muttered, looking at the ground.

The demon Draco hissed in disappointment, grabbing Draco's shoulders and spinning him around to face the sunlight, the beautiful field of flowers, the light summer breeze …and them.

Draco gasped as the shadowy devil – Blaise, his _best-fucking-friend_, Draco thought with a glower - slowly drew a claw down the angels arm, drawing blood. It slowly seeped out of the wound, perfectly scarlet drops falling to the ground, ruining the angel, ruining the flowers it touched as it fell…

"You want to stop that, Draco? Then shake my hand. Agree with me. Let me take control when needed… because you _need_ me, whether you admit it or not, you _coward_." The demon growled in his ear.

The words drove a knife through Draco's heart, and he shivered, his eyes riveting between the scene before him and the demon on his shoulder.

- ~ -

Somewhere in the time she'd been staring at him – whether it had been seconds or minutes, Hermione wasn't sure – Snape had arrived, scowling. "We haven't got all day, Miss Granger. Stop staring at my pupil like he is a specimen on display, and get this over with."

Hermione nodded tersely, ignoring Snape's impatience.

She lightly touched his face – registering that at her touch he stopped convulsing and mumbling, immediately relaxing – and quickly leaned in, pecking him on the cheek. "There," she said, stepping away from him, feeling a small pang of hurt that he didn't wake up.

The second she stepped away he went back to thrashing in his sheets, mumbling erratically. Hermione glanced at him, and then back at the Professors. "May I go now, please?"

"Not quite. I'm afraid you need to kiss Mister Malfoy on the lips, Miss Granger." Dumbledore said solemnly, like he sympathized with her, which conflicted with the sparkle of humour she saw in his eyes.

'_Stupid bloody…_' She cursed in her head, turning back to the gorgeous unconscious boy. She took a deep breath, stepped back to Draco's side, then leaned in and gently pressed her lips against his.

- ~ -

"Done." Draco croaked out, shaking the demons hand. It cackled, and Draco turned around to look at the angel. It had finally turned its head, and Draco saw Hermione face him, her eyes teary. "What have you done?" She whispered.

He turned back to his demon self, which was laughing maniacally. The last thing he saw was its gleeful red eyes, before everything faded.

- ~ -

It was the perfect kiss. Gentle, sweet, soft. Hermione pulled away, her own emotions frightening her. She looked up at the Professors, slightly stunned. "I-I… look, he hasn't woken up. This was a waste of time, sorry Professor." She looked at their faces uncertainly, but they were looking past her in stunned silence.

"…_Hermione_." A voice said huskily behind her. She gasped, whirling around to face Draco, who was sitting up in the bed, with a handsome lazy smirk gracing his face. While he had been good-looking before he had become a sleeping beauty, the spell – or whatever it was – had amplified that so that he was breathtaking. And for some reason, now he was awoken from the enchantment, his stunning good looks had remained.

'_Or_,' Hermione thought, '_maybe he's always been this good looking… and I never noticed_.'

Draco grinned devilishly at her confusion, his icy blue eyes flashing as he appeared to think of something devious. He reached out and quickly grabbed her arm, gently pulling her on top of him.

"Eep!" Hermione said in surprise, her own caramel eyes widening in alarm as he flipped them over so she was under him. She blushed as she was given a view of his flawless pale chest, pretending not to notice that he was shirtless, and that Quidditch had given him _very_ nice, _very_ toned abs.

"So, you come here often?" Draco asked with a chuckle. Hermione stared at him in a mixture of appreciation and horror, unused to this new Draco. He was teasing, sure- he had yet to insult her. He was being nice. Friendly, even. And the genuine smile on his face replaced his usual sneer of disgust. She had never been treated this way by him – hell, she wasn't sure any female had.

Hermione was saved from replying as Professor McGonagall jumped in looking like she'd just swallowed a lemon. "Mister Malfoy, that is entirely inappropriate, would you please-" McGonagall began.

Draco's attention was diverted to where the Professors stood in the doorway. He snorted and rolled his eyes, ignoring McGonagall's enraged lecture, and lifted his palm towards them. In an instant roses and thorns grew quickly around the bed, until nothing was visible.

Around them all Hermione saw was a forest of sharp thorns and red roses. Somehow they muffled sound, silencing McGonagall's lecture completely. Hermione inhaled sharply, noticing as Draco seemed to relax a bit more above her.

"Finally…" He breathed out, looking down at her through long lashes.

Hermione stared back at him in confusion. "B-but- you don't have a wand on you…" She stated, looking pointedly at his hands as if daring him to correct her.

Draco laughed slightly, his voice whimsical. "So it would seem." He replied.

His hand traced patterns on her arm, rubbing up and down her side, causing her to shiver. He heard her and his eyes seemed to darken. Hermione stared at him, as he leant in, his other hand caressing her face. It was like his eyes held her in some kind of trance, his silver-blue ones piercing hers. He was so close that she could feel his breath on her lips – and then he closed his eyes.

She snapped out of it last second, pushing at his chest. "Wait," she protested meekly, realizing that without her wand she was powerless.

Draco looked up at her with a tender smile, and she shivered again, wondering why he was looking at her like that – like she was the only thing that mattered, like she was precious, fragile. "What is it?" He asked, still running a hand up and down her sides.

She winced at his expression of adoration, feeling slightly guilty, but knowing that she shouldn't. She owed him nothing, she reminded herself. All he had ever done was torment her and her friends.

"I… we can't. I'm sorry Mal- Draco. I'm with Blaise."

Draco stopped his movement, his hand pulling away from her side and clenching tightly in a fist. His eyes flashed from their perfect silver-blue to blood red and back again. He fumed silently, his rage scaring Hermione and causing the girl to recoil. He inhaled sharply, calming down slightly. "I don't think so. You're mine." He glanced back down at her, his eyes hard.

He softened as he looked at her noticing how scared she was. He cupped her face, and once again Hermione was completely aware of how breathtakingly beautiful he was.

She struggled from being pulled in, the same trance-like state happening again. Draco stroked her side. "Say you're mine, Hermione…" He said, his eyes burning into hers.

"Draco… I…" Hermione started, pulled into his eyes. "I'm y-"

A loud BANG sounded on the other side of the thorns. Hermione snapped out of it, pushing in vain against Draco's chest. "No!" She yelled.

He grabbed her wrists, holding them above her head and kissing her forcefully. She struggled under him, unable to move under his weight.

Another loud explosion sounded beside them followed by incoherent yells. The thorns and roses disintegrated. Draco pulled away from her, cursing loudly as Blaise and the Professors, who lingered by the door, appeared.

Blaise glared at Draco, punching him in the jaw and effectively shoving him off Hermione. The Italian boy grabbed Hermione, pulling her to her feet and putting her slightly behind him to his side. He gripped her arm possessively.

Draco's face contorted in anger, his eyes narrowing. His eyes flickered from Blaise to Hermione, who hid behind Blaise, watching him with a mixture of fear and panic. "Zabini." Draco greeted darkly.

Hermione flinched at its coldness, wishing he would take his eyes off her. She watched in horror as the bruise from where Blaise punched him blossomed on his cheek then faded just as quickly when his eyes turned a gruesome red.

"So you've woken up." Blaise said brusquely by way of reply.

"Yes." Draco answered snappishly, his tone flat and harsh. "And you know how I am when I've just woken up, Blaise. I'd hate for us to be on bad terms." He smirked at the irony of this. "So, if you wouldn't mind giving me back what's mine?"

Blaise tightened his grip on Hermione's arm. "I don't have anything of yours." He said, his voice steely, his gaze unwavering.

Draco's eyes flickered to Hermione again. "She's brunette, she's 5'9, and she's the only brains the fucking golden trio has." He said scathingly. "Give her back, Blaise. I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to."

Blaise glared at him disdainfully. "No, Draco. Just because you're the fucking Slytherin prince doesn't mean you get everything you want. Hermione and I are together."

Draco let out a hollow laugh. "Right. Seriously now, the hand your touching her with is about to be removed."

Blaise shook his head. "I'm not letting go of her. You're my best mate, Draco. Please accept this- accept us." He moved his arm to encircle Hermione's waist, pulling her to his side as Draco watched, his eyes slowly turning red again.

Draco's face remained expressionless, but barely suppressed rage was present in his voice, and his eyes burned red slowly, the promise of pain showing through them. "Was." He corrected. "_Was_ your best mate. Not anymore."

His eyes fell on Hermione again, and she quivered under his gaze. Draco noticed how scared she was and stiffened, suddenly guilty. He didn't want to scare her. "I'm letting you go this once with a warning. After this, its game on."

Blaise nodded in understanding, pulling Hermione from the room. Draco never took his eyes off her, watching her go. She shivered, feeling his eyes on her back until they turned down the stairs, leaving Draco to deal with the Professors, who had been forgotten about during their exchange.

Blaise wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay, _bello_?" He asked quietly.

Hermione swallowed. "Fine."

Blaise sighed. "Good, because things are going to get much harder after this. Come on, I'll take you back to your common room."

"Okay." Hermione hesitated for a moment, and then added, "How did you… get to the tower room? Did you know I was there?"

Blaise grinned, chuckling at something she didn't know about. "McGonagall got me. She said you were up there with Draco, and there wasn't anytime to loose. When I asked her why she would tell me, she said she didn't want you getting into a relationship that ruined your potential, and that at least I have intelligence sufficient enough to challenge you a little."

He shook his head. "That woman scares me. I think she sees you as an unofficial daughter."

Hermione laughed. "She really said that? She must really dislike Dra- Malfoy." She quickly covered her mistake, but Blaise noticed and shot her a glance, his grip on her hand tightening. They stayed silent after that – not a comfortable silence, but an awkward, painful silence.

They stopped outside the portrait of the fat lady. Blaise ran a hand through his dark hair, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like cussing under his breath. "I've got things to do today, so… I'll see you Monday."

"Oh." Hermione replied softly, not believing him. "Right, well… bye, then." She turned, but Blaise grabbed her arm and turned her to face him quickly.

"Bye." He pulled away and headed back to the dungeons. Hermione watched him go then headed into her common room.

- - -

Monday morning saw the golden trio wearily trudging in to Defense against the dark arts class with hufflepuff's, each brooding about how their weekend had been.

Remus, who had been reinstated as their teacher after the war, greeted them happily, oblivious to the foul moods despite their obvious scowls. He waited patiently for the class to settle, smiling vaguely until everyone was in the seats and quiet. "Right then," he started. "Today we're going to be doing a practical lesson that will determine a long term goal for you all."

Ron rolled his eyes as Harry slouched back in his chair whilst Hermione leaned forward in interest. Remus turned and the red head got a good look at what was behind him – a large wardrobe, old and ratty looking. The door shook violently, as something inside the wardrobe tried to escape. "Now, I know we covered them in third year, but I'd like for you all to go up against a boggart again."

Small groans were barely concealed by the class, and Ron sank down in his seat next to Harry and grimaced, his thoughts plagued by giant spiders and a bloody battlefield that saw the deaths of many friends and enemies – the fall of Voldemort. Ron shot a worried glance at Harry, but Harry remained indifferent, listening with only slight interest.

"The aim of this lesson is to see what you each fear the most, and bye the end of this year, that fear is to change – what I'm asking of you, class," Remus continued, smiling, "is that as a long term project, you are each to work on overcoming your biggest fears. When you next see the boggart at the end of this year, it should take the form of something other than what you see today. I know this is a hard task to ask of you, but I believe you can all do it. Make an effort, this year, to get to know more about your fears, and find a way to be comfortable with them."

The old werewolf shifted uncomfortably on the spot, his eyes sweeping over the trio. "Of course, there are some exceptions, and Harry, Neville, and whoever else believes this too much, are permitted to be excluded from this project. It is mostly an extra credit assignment, so don't worry about failing."

Harry looked up at Remus sharply, his eyes flicking to Neville who gave a short nod and back. "We'll be fine, Professor."

Remus nodded, a little unsure, and continued. "Alright then, if everyone could please line up where they want, you can all go through now."

The Hufflepuffs went first. Susan Bones faced a grim reaper with her name on the list, and then Wayne Hopkins opposed a giant basilisk. Ernie Macmillon approached the boggart cautiously, glancing nervously at Ron whenever he thought the red head wasn't looking. He pursed his lips as the boggart went first from his parents being dead, to them disowning him, and then shifting into the form of a smug looking Ron Weasley. Ernie choked up, standing still in surprise, as the boggart Ron hissed at him, "You disgust me. How could you ever think I'd want you?" And promptly turned to a clone of Nott, who smirked at him and proceeded to snog Ron.

Ron flushed beet red and Ernie, mortified, muttered "Ridiculous," changing the boggart from the kissing couple in to a Quidditch cup with the name Chudley Cannons engraved on it. The idea of the Cannons winning being ridiculous enough, Ernie smiled at it cheerfully, resilient enough to ignore the whoops of his classmates, and went to the back of the room to the Hufflepuffs to watch the Gryffindors.

Parvati stepped up to the boggart, breathing deeply as she saw Lavender die before her eyes, then other fellow housemates die on the battlefield. Harry went after her, the boggart morphing into a creature that was half Harry, half Voldemort. Harry didn't appear surprised, flicking his wrist at the creature and turning it into big foot with ease. Hermione went next, watching as her parents writhed in excruciating pain front of her, as Bellatrix Lestrange crucioed them. She took a deep breath, then like Harry appeared apathetic, quickly flicking her wrist.

Finally, Ron went to the boggart, gulping as it changed into two large hairy black spiders, the spider's heads replaced with the heads Ernie and Nott.

Ron flicked his wand at the creatures, and the two spiders started tap dancing in pink tutus.

Remus stood, speechless for a moment, then with a quick swish of his wrist sent the boggart back to the closet. "Well, that was all very… I mean… I'm sure you'll have a- very interesting year, with this assignment."

(a/n: =o sorry for the slow update. Had a bit of writers block. Please review.)


	6. Creak

(a/n: Eep. =S  
**  
**To** taxxibby, Raisa Malfoy Cullen Mathers** and **crazylittlevoices –** Sorry! I'm not offended at all, little embarrassed though – I'm such a dork. This is what I get for using the internet to translate for me. I think I'll restrict my usage of Italian, to avoid future incidents . Thanks for the corrections! I made sure to change what was wrong. Please point it out if (/when) you see more. =]

To **scribbledoodles** – Erm. Whoops. No, when I did DMHGBZ in the summary, I just meant it's a triangle kind of thing… ultimately Herm and Draco get together, not all three of them. Sorry for any confusion. Same with EMRWTN, that's just going to be… I don't want to say which two get together, but I suppose it's glaringly obvious.  
Also, the EMRW and RWTN, for anyone wondering, will not be written further than kissing, because I'm not comfortable writing them doing more than that. If the characters do, it'll be implied rather than written.

R&R… )

* * *

**Chapter Six**

- - - 

_These violent delights  
Have violent ends  
And in their triumph die,  
Like fire and powder,  
Which, as they kiss, consume.  
_  
- - -

"_Hermione_," a voice called from the darkness. "Hermione!" It hissed again.

She whirled to face it, only to be met with a smirking Draco. Black horns were prominent on his head, clashing with perfect blonde locks. Blood red eyes peered out at her through his bangs, and when he grinned widely, showing his teeth, Hermione was surprised this strange version of Draco didn't have fangs.

She watched him cautiously as he approached, seemingly casual, but with a predatory glint in his eyes. "I've been waiting for you, angel."

That was another thing that puzzled Hermione. What was with the wings on her back and the flashy white dress she was wearing?

"Where are we?" She asked Draco, fidgeting nervously as he came closer and taking a step back.

Draco chuckled and grabbed her wrist before she could bolt. "Oh no, you don't- you're not getting away from me, not now. Just because _he_ is okay with taking it slow doesn't mean I am." Pulling her closer despite her struggles, he cupped her face gently with his other hand. She flinched away from it and he gripped her jaw aggressively, forcing her to look at him.

(a/n: just a quick note – in the quote above, the 'he' Demon Draco is referring to his other self, the one he made a deal to get Hermione with, NOT Blaise.)

She looked into his eyes and shivered – they looked empty, and his face seemed cold and cruel. "Where do you think we are? Home, of course." He said.

Hermione looked around in bewilderment- this hellhole was home? Darkness stretched on for miles, and somewhere in the distance she heard a child sobbing. Everything she could see was only in a three-meter radius, and all of it was cast in an eerie red glow. Other than her and Draco, the only things present were the dirt under her feet, and a domineering, alluring bed – it was giant, black silk sheets covering it, and four posts adding to its elegance, the intricate designs carved into the wooden posts Hermione identified as symbols used in dark magic.

Draco gleefully interrupted her inspection. "I finally have you down here in the dark with me, where you belong." He smirked again, pulling her body against his. "We have so much lost time to make up for," he purred suggestively in her ear, "lets not waste it asking silly questions, hmm?" Ignoring her look of disgust he groped her, pulling away when she slapped his hand.

He laughed at her pitiful attempt to push him away, leering at her. With snake-like quickness he grabbed her, tossing her onto the bed.

Glaring she sat up, kicking at him. "That is not going to happen."

"This is about Blaise, isn't it?" Draco seethed, clenching his hands into tight fists. "Don't you get it? You're too good for him; all he will do is taint you. We- I will have you."

Hermione shook her head, getting up and away from the bed. "Who's good enough for me is my choice. Not yours." She replied coolly, irritated at the power Draco seemed to believe he had over her.

Draco laughed humorlessly, his horns appearing to grow. "Believe what you want. In the end, you're here, aren't you? With me, not him." He concluded smugly.

He lunged at her, grabbing her wrists. "You. Are. Mine. So get used to it." His red eyes bore into hers, and as she looked into them, she felt herself falling.

Dazed she relaxed in his arms, her gaze unwavering. Then she felt it- all the emotions this Draco was feeling. Glee. Anxiety. Wrath. Hate. Lust. Fear. So much sadness.

She was in his head. First she saw Blaise as a devil, holding her and smiling. Hatred burned intensely to accompany this image, as well as anxiety and jealousy.

Then she saw herself through his eyes. And suddenly she wasn't just Hermione Granger, the mudblood, the bookworm. Chocolate coloured eyes framed by long dark lashes complimented perfect brown curls that flowed over her shoulders, contrasting beautifully with pale porcelain skin. Pure white wings extended behind her. She felt his happiness at this image, his lust, worry, care, and fear – fear of rejection, and fear of hurting her. Her presence chased away the other screaming voices in his head.

An image of Lucius Malfoy emerged. She felt his hatred, more intense than his hatred of Blaise. And then voices started screaming in her head- in his head- broken pieces of Draco's childhood came alive before her eyes, whizzing past her quickly.

Through Draco's eyes Hermione watched, horrified, as a small boy watched his father beat his mother, cowering helplessly in the corner. She watched as he tried his hardest to impress his father, tried so hard to please him, but none of his efforts were good enough. She gulped as Draco was beaten, again and again without mercy, for coming in place behind a mudblood – her – in academics. She saw sleepless nights when Draco had lay in bed, only to hear his mother a few rooms over – his mother, the only person who really cared for him – in bed with other men whilst Lucius was away on business.

She saw herself slapping him in third year, then saw him watching her through narrowed eyes as he plotted revenge, but could somehow not carry through with any plans. She watched as he watched her, surprised at her passion for life, and her care for her friends. Watched as he made a conscious effort not to insult her, not to call her mudblood, and to deal with other slytherins who did, and she felt his pain as he saw her kiss Victor Krum, and ignored him.

She saw Lucius beat him again – only a year ago, just before Draco had joined the order – furious, more violent than normal. "_How dare you- my only son! Malfoys do not love, most especially filth like that mudblood whore!_" His father yelled at him, pointing his wand and performing the Cruciatus Curse. When it was finally over, Lucius barely looked at his bruised and battered son, who lay barely breathing, on the floor. "_You have three hours. Leave this house. You are no son of mine_."

In a sudden movement, she was back to the bed, and Draco was glaring down at her, his face hard. "Stay out of my head!" He growled.

"Mal- Draco…" Hermione said quietly, reaching up to stroke the side of his face. "I'm so sorry." She said simply, pulling him into a hug. For a moment Draco lay there in shock, staring incredulously at her. His red eyes glowed warm at her touch, and he snorted.

"I don't feel pain. Any other emotion – rage, envy, lust, wrath… but not pain or fear." He smirked, but she held him tighter, and observed his horns shrink and disappear, and his red pupils fade back to their usual blue-grey. Then, hesitantly, he hugged her back. Deep in the darkness, the crying child sniffled, but its cries were reduced to whimpers.

Silent tears ran down Draco's face and he turned from her, ashamed. She looked at him, noticing. "It's okay… its okay now, it will be okay." She said gently, rubbing his back comfortingly. She winced as he dug his fingers into her back, holding her to him as tight as he could, shaking as he continued to cry silently.

A light shone in the darkness, illuminating the endless barren land they were on – the dirt ground stretched on for miles. "Morning," a voice called cheerfully, coming from no particular direction. Hermione gasped as she looked at herself- she was slowly fading, already transparent.

Draco watched her, bewildered. "Don't leave me, you can't le-" He shouted desperately.

But she had already disappeared.

- - -

Hermione woke with a start as Lavender yelled cheerfully to her roommates. "Up! Time to get up!"

Hermione groaned and sat up slowly, frowning as she attempted to remember her dream. It had seemed important, but she couldn't recall it.

"Ouu, Hermione, who's your secret admirer? That's the third one this week!" Lavender asked in a girlish shriek.

"Life is too complicated in the morning," Hermione muttered. She turned to her bedside table, picking up the beautiful red rose on it. The thorns were still intact, and Hermione knew it was one that Malfoy had some how conjured. Next to it was the same note as last time – a small piece of paper with the word '_Forever'_ written on it in an elegant scrawl.

As Lavender had said, it was the third rose that week. Draco had sent one every morning since he had woken. They hadn't talked since their confrontation on Sunday, and she had barely seen Blaise either. It was starting to unnerve her, how intensely Draco stared at her when they were in a room together- be it class, the Great Hall, or simply passing in hallways.

With a quick stretch and yawn, Hermione jumped out of bed and padded to the bathroom.

Today, she decided, today she'd have to deal with Draco Malfoy. Being the one to wake him from his magical stupor was unfortunate, but why should they have to pay just because the Happily Ever After Association had a sick sense of humour? She wasn't sure how she would do it, but somehow she would convince him that he hated her, remind him of things before this silly Sleeping Beauty situation had happened.

- - -

Harry and Ron raced each other down the corridor towards the Great Hall, in a hurry to get to lunch. At the end of the hallway they turned to look at her expectantly, but she rolled her eyes at them. "Go on without me, there's something I have to do." She told them, crossing her arms.

Ron shrugged, compliant, but Harry was hesitant. "You sure, 'Mione? You're not skipping meals to go to the library like last year, are you?" He asked, worry evident in his tone.

Hermione smiled at her best friend, waving him off carelessly. "Don't worry Harry, this shouldn't take that long. I'm not going to skip meals."

Ron grunted. "Thank Merlin. I have no idea how you did it, food is too good." His stomach grumbled, as if to reiterate his words. "We'll see you later then, Mione!" He yelled at her, dragging Harry with him to the Great Hall.

Hermione turned in the opposite direction; heading towards Arithmancy, where she knew Blaise – and was hopeful Draco – would be coming from, so she could intercept Draco on the way to the Great hall.

The gorgeous blonde turned into the hall she was walking down a moment later, chatting to Theodore Nott and apparently not noticing the attention the female Slytherins were paying him.

In a strange surge of inexplicable jealousy Hermione noticed Pansy Parkinson skip up to him and place a hand on his arm, shooting a look of smug superiority to the other girls, who fumed. Draco barely glanced at Pansy, continuing his conversation with Nott until he looked up and noticed Hermione standing a few feet ahead of them. He stopped talking and shot her a grin.

Pansy narrowed her eyes at this, flipping her bowl-cut black hair back with a snooty 'hmph.' "Blaise left early to go to the Great Hall." She snapped, agitated at the attention Draco was paying Hermione. "I believe he went to find you."

Slowly, a sneer took place of her grimace as she saw Draco's grin fade. "Now run along, little Mudblood. The traitor is waiting for you."

"Shut up, Parkinson, you whore." Draco barked at her. "If I were to throw I stick, would you leave?"

Pansy pouted, hurt. "But Drakie-Poo…" She whined, clinging to him.

Hermione ignored the girl, looking directly at Draco. "I need to talk to you." She glanced at his Slytherin buddies. "Alone."

Draco beamed at her, looking like a child on Christmas day. He turned to Nott, muttered a quick "Bye," and stalked up to her. She grabbed his arm, pulling him into the nearest deserted classroom.

"Well, Hermione, this is earlier than expected, but I'm glad you've come to your senses. Interesting place you chose."

She slammed the door behind them and pushed him against the wall.

He grinned at her. "Kinky."

She rolled her eyes, taking a step away from him. "I- this…" She said, stumbling over her words and gesturing between them. "Please stop, Malfoy. Stop sending me the roses, and stop watching me. I know that being Sleeping Beauty… triggered some feelings for me, but- we hate each other. You have to remember that. Remember before the Happily Ever After Association interfered. You hate me," she repeated desperately. "You hate me, and the feelings mutual."

Draco waited for her to finish, listening to her speech without interrupting, his face an unemotional mask. "Are you done?" He asked, abstemious.

She nodded, incredulous at his tone.

"Okay." He said, taking a breath. "I never hated you. I couldn't. I tried too, though. The first few years of Hogwarts I despised you because you were muggleborn… you were what my father," he winced "had me believe was lower then us. But you- Hermione, I was jealous of you."

Hermione stared at him, skeptical. "You? The Prince of Slytherin, jealous of a mere know-it-all _mudblood_?" She spat, ignoring the stinging in her eyes.

She stumbled over her words as memories of bullying and harassment taunted her, "I don't- I can't- …Why?" She crossed her arms over her chest anxiously, biting her lip as she waited for his reply.

Draco looked upset at the word mudblood. "Despite your heritage, you still got better grades than me, had loyal friends, were… _happy_." He shook his head in remembrance. "It didn't help that you were… Are beautiful. And then, you slapped me in third year." He smiled wistfully, looking away from her into the distance. "No other girl dared to stand up to me. You fascinated me."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, and grinned slowly. "So basically… you're a masochist?" She asked nonchantly.

Draco glared back, unamused. "No! Just- it showed you were different. I don't think I could really love anyone else…" He paused uncomfortably, and Hermione sighed in exasperation.

"Listen Malfoy, that's what I've been trying to tell you- you don't love me. It's an artificial façade created by the Happily Ever After Association – you just think you love me," Hermione said. An awkward, inexplicable wave of sadness overcame her, and she tried to push it away. Of course Malfoy couldn't really love her. Not her, not after everything that had happened.

"Don't you dare tell me how I feel!" Draco hissed furiously, his eyes flashing red. "I know what I feel. I love you!" He sighed, dragging a hand through his hair.

Hermione looked guilty. "Sorry. I- its not right, to disregard _anyone's_ feelings like that. But, Malfoy," he twitched at the sound of his last name, "you've only ever shown that you like me after that sleeping spell. How do explain that?"

"I think at first, it was just – an infatuation." He paused to check she was listening. She nodded for him to continue, leaning back against a wall, her face passive and unreadable.

"I became a little obsessed. I asked Blaise about you a lot, trying to make it seem like I wanted to know and exploit your weaknesses – and I suppose that Blaise, whilst finding things out about you for me, starting liking you too. It was just before the war when I realized it was love. I watched you… not in a disturbing watch your every move sort of thing, but when you were near. And, when you were sad, I was sad. When you were happy, I was happy. But I wanted… I wanted to be the reason you were happy."

He paused, and continued hesitantly, "Of course, I couldn't. But I did make it clear to the whole Slytherin house that you were not to be touched. Then, someone," he scowled menacingly, his eyes darkening, "owled my father. So I stayed away from you for your protection. Not that you were exactly safe, being the best friend of the-twat-that-just-wont-die."

"Don't call Har-" Hermione began indignantly.

Draco held a hand up to stop her. "I have to admit, I did take out my frustration of not being with you on Potter, Weasel-bee and Longbottom. And I don't know exactly why or how I fell in love with you. I know you're intelligent, beautiful, funny," he grinned, "incredibly stubborn. But so are other witches. All I know is that no one else but you can make me happy." He looked away from her, not wanting to see her reaction as she processed this new information.

"Then… you and Blaise happened. He was my best mate, and he knew how I felt about you. But I saw how happy you were, and I wasn't going to stop the two people I cared about most being happy. Besides, you would have rejected me, and then there was the danger from the war…"

"Why didn't you... do something after the war? There was no danger then."

"You had just broken up with Blaise. Besides, there was no way you'd forgive me for the way I treated you at Hogwarts, and even during the war. …The only difference after being 'sleeping beauty,' as you put it, is that it's made me actually try to get you. Blaise doesn't deserve you. He'll just taint you."

Hermione snickered a little. "Taint me? Am I so good and pure that the war didn't affect me at all? You're exaggerating, Malfoy, I'm not as pure as you believe."

"Perhaps the war ruined your innocent view of the world, but it didn't take away your kindness. You're selfless. I saved Ginny Weasley's life during the war because I knew it was the right thing and you would be sad if she died. You would have risked your life just because you can't bear to see an innocent die. Am I right?"

Hermione didn't reply, but Draco saw the answer on her face. "I am.

Hermione flinched. "What, now you know everything about me? Of course I would risk my life for an innocent. So would Harry, and Ron, and-" She retorted,

"I don't know everything. But I want too." Draco interrupted. "Potter and Weasley got glory from it. They seemed to take it like a duty, one they obviously loathed. I know I sound presumptuous, but I paid attention. You would gladly sacrifice yourself for a greater good. And not because you like to play the martyr."

Hermione bit her lip, pensive, and then muttered "What do you want from me? I'm not going to break up with Blaise for you. I don't even _know_ you, not really. What do you expect, Draco?"

Draco scowled at the mention of Blaise. "I don't expect anything. I just want to call a truce; I won't insult you and you don't ignore me. Sound fair enough?"

"That's it? Nothing else? …No strings attached?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"I knew it."

Draco sighed in exasperation. "Is it so bad for me to at least want your friendship? You don't want me, I get it, fine. But that doesn't mean we can't get to know each other as friends, right?"

"Well… yes, of course, friendship sounds fine. But if we are to attempt this, I have one condition I need you to agree to."

Draco nodded eagerly. "Anything."

"Apologize for the past and be civil to Harry and Ron."

"Anything but that."

* * *

(a/n: Harrah, Chapter six is up! Anyone figure out what's up with Draco? :D …heh.

I'm going to try to have the next chapter up asap. So, hopefully in about 2-3 days. Wish me luck =P)


	7. Jealousy

**(a/n: **Aha! A relatively quick update! Tried to include more EMRWTN in this one because of the lack of it in the last chapter.  
If you cast your mind back to chapter four, you'll notice that Ron owes Ernie a date sort-of. So, making use of that now.

Sorry if this chapter lacks quality. I rushed it a bit.)  


* * *

**- - - **

_She walks in beauty--like the night  
Of cloudless climes and starry skies,  
And all that's best of dark and bright  
Meet in her aspect and her eyes._

_- - -  
_

**  
Chapter Seven**

The sun rose on Hogwarts, reds and warm yellows colouring the sky to signal the start of a new day. Nothing moved, and all but two wizards were still in bed.

Neville gulped, stepping away from the window with the view of the picture-esq sunrise, and towards the middle of the desolate classroom, staring into a dark corner where shadows faintly outlined the silhouette of a man, but effectively hid who he was. "Well done, Longbottom. I was starting to think you wouldn't show. Which would have been a very, _very_ stupid thing to do, even for you."

Neville squeaked- yes, squeaked- in fear. "I got your note! I came as fast as I could! But it was hard to get out without Harry noticing, he's been such a light sleeper since-" The boy babbled nervously.

The figure in the shadows snickered. "Did you just _squeak_? _Seriously_? …Never mind, as entertaining as intimidating you is, we're running out of time. If you read the note, then you know what I need you to do."

"I- I-" Neville stuttered.

"I, I," The voice mocked with obvious disdain. "God I loathe Gryffindors."

"I'll do it. That makes us even, right? You won't…" Neville let out a high-pitched laugh, the underlying desperation in it clear. "Off me when no one's looking?"

The man scoffed. "_Off_ you? As appealing as that sounds, I shall refrain. And NO we are not even! I'll be calling on you for more favours in the future. As if doing this is tantamount to making my hair green… imbecile…"

Neville cleared his throat. "G-got it. So, breakfast then? And the signal is… a kiss? I don't understand how blowing up food helps you with anything."

"Of course you don't, I wouldn't expect you to understand much of anything. The explosion will be the perfect distraction. It won't even be suspicious, when people see you were the cause. And yes, the signal is a kiss, pay attention to me and I'll make it obvious for you. Honestly, good help these days is so hard to find…" These words were followed by a dramatic sigh.

"Can I go back to sleep now? …Please? We've still got at least an hour until people start waking up. Why did you want to meet so early anyway, Malfoy?"

The blonde in question stepped out of the shadows, his eyes crimson. "Because I do not want to be seen with _you_, and because I need to talk to Crabbe and Goyle about taking care of a certain Italian pest."

Neville tried to ignore the shiver that ran up his spine.

"You better not fail me." Draco told him, his voice a harsh whisper.

"I won't," Neville answered truthfully, watching in barely concealed terror as Draco's eyes went from dark red to icy blue. "I swear."

- - -

Friday morning saw Hermione dazed and disorientated, her mind reeling from another hazy dream of an angel and a demon. She sat at next to Harry at the Gryffindor table for breakfast quietly.

"Mo-rphning Hermio-mph-e," Ron greeted her through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, not fazing her in the least.

Harry glanced up at her inquisitively when she failed to reply, looking worried. "Morning Herm- you feeling okay?"

Hermione snapped her head up at him quickly. "Fine, absolutely fine." She laughed nervously. "Why wouldn't I be? Actually Harry, you've been looking rather pale lately, are you okay?" She rambled, quickly twisting the conversation to be about him.

Ron, sensing an argument was about to ensue, quickly piled up his plate and filled his mouth with bacon, so he wouldn't have to pick sides – should the argument come to that, he'd be too busy eating to say anything.

Harry's eyes narrowed, not fooled. "You're being evasive. I won't push this, but I expect you to tell me when you're ready." He said coldly. She winced at his tone and he sighed. "I love you 'Mione, you know that. You're the closest thing I have to family, other than the Weasleys. I want to help you, and I can't do that unless you tell me what's wrong."

Hermione nodded guiltily. "I love you too, Harry. I- well, the thing is-"

"What the hell is Malfoy doing coming over here?" Harry spluttered, interrupting her.

Hermione swivelled in her chair in horror as the blonde self-proclaimed Slytherin sex god approached, grinning cheerfully at her. "Morning."

He turned to glare at the second year sitting next to her. The poor student quivered and jumped off the seat hastily, running to the end of the table.

Draco relaxed and smiled again, taking the now vacant seat and draping his arm around Hermione's shoulders as the second years plate disappeared and was replaced with an empty, clean one. Hermione shrugged his arm off from her shoulders, and Draco simply moved it around her waist. She glared at him. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah, Malfoy, why are you here?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Actually, love, I'm not just here for you this morning." Draco announced to Hermione, ignoring her death glares and attempts to remove his arm from around her.

He cleared his throat, turning reluctantly to face Harry and Ron. "Potty, Weasel-bee-" Hermione elbowed him sharply, "-I mean, Potter-" she elbowed him again, realising his intent. "Fine," He muttered, glancing down into her light brown eyes, "you're lucky I love you." Ron dropped his fork at this, his mouth gaping wide, and Harry looked just as alarmed next to him. Hermione muttered something under her breath about bouncing blonde ferrets.

"Har… Harry… Merlin that was hard. …Ron- I'm willing to acknowledge that you are both humans, and am sorry for believing otherwise in the past. I know now that you are worth at least giving the time of day to, if nothing else." Draco settled back, seeming pleased with himself. "There, how was that?"

Harry and Ron scowled at him, simultaneously cursing him incoherently.

Hermione glowered at Draco. "You managed to be a prick and insult my best friends whilst trying to apologise. Congratulations, not many people could've pulled that off." She said sarcastically. "Try again."

Draco made a face, but his hand tightened its hold on Hermione's waist, and he looked back up at the two baffled boys. "I'm truly sorry for everything I've done to make your lives miserable these past years. I know it'll be hard, but it would be nice if you could forgive and forget- because you're going to be seeing a lot more of me if you plan to stay friends with Hermione."

Harry looked at Hermione. "Care to explain?"

Ron turned slowly red, his anger building. "What the bloody hell Malfoy?! Is that a THREAT? You think you can stop Hermione being friends with us? She hates you, YOU FOUL PRAT! I'm going to _kill_ yo-"

Draco rolled his eyes at Ron's outburst. "Typical." He muttered.

He looked at Harry boldly. "I'm surprised Hermione didn't tell you- she was the one who woke me up." Hermione turned scarlet, busying herself with piling more food on Ron's near-over flowing plate.

Draco then swivelled to face Ron, who was fuming. "And no, Weasley, that was not a threat. I was merely saying that I'm going to be a part of Hermione's live from now on, and being part of her live means dealing with _you_," he scrunched up his face in distaste, "but she is worth it. What I meant was that after Hogwarts things could happen and you could grow apart. By the way, Theodore says hello." Draco finished, smirking sardonically.

Ron went pale, looking over Draco's shoulder at the Slytherin in question. "Gotta go, forgot that thing that's… well, yeah. Bye." He said hastily, running from the room. Harry shot Hermione a confused look, but she shrugged, confused as well.

"Herm? How do you feel about… this?" Harry asked, nodding towards Draco.

"I have a name, Pot- Harry." Draco interjected, but the two studiously ignored him.

Hermione bit her lip. "I don't really know what to think. He's always been such a twitchy foul prat-"

"Hey! I'm right here!"

"-content with making our lives miserable-"

"I said I was sorry! You Gryffin-dorks hold grudges-"

"-but, I don't doubt Dumbledore, Harry. And kissing him really did wake him up, so that's got to mean something. And he has called a truce, hasn't he? Friendship could be quite beneficial for all parties involved, if you think about it. It could mean improvement of inter-house relations, civility between Gryffindors and Slytherins. Not to mention, he's unfortunately blessed with... well, he's not exactly hard on the eyes,"

"So glad you noticed." Draco said smugly, tightening his hold on her.

"Which really helps with putting up with his narcissism."

"Duly noted."

"So I think a truce, a friendship, is a good idea." Hermione said to Harry firmly, concluding her reasons.

"Only with you, I refuse to hang around scar face and his pet weas- Ow! Woman! Was that really necessary?" Draco winced, rubbing his side where Hermione elbowed him.

"Alright. I trust you, so if you're sure about this, I guess I can't say anything against it. I'm going to find Ron, I'll see you later." He cast one last look of warning to Draco then left the Great Hall.

Students watched them curiously, and voices buzzed loud, speculation and mystified girls wondering how it was that Hermione-know-it-all-Granger had woken up _the_ Draco Malfoy.

Hermione looked behind her to the Slytherin table, which was oddly quiet. "Aren't your minions mad that you're sitting with me?"

Draco chuckled, swallowing a spoonful of cereal. "Of course not. My minions are well trained, they know their place. I've informed them of our… situation. With the exception of Pansy, they all seemed to take it well."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Marvellous. And how humble you are, I don't suppose you have them calling you master?"

"They were calling me god for a while, but I told them Draco would do. You may call me master, though." He leered at her.

"I prefer ferret, but thanks for the option." Hermione replied with ease.

Draco pouted, then noticed a very angry Blaise enter the hall, and made a show of kissing her cheek, moving slightly closer to her as she awkwardly tried to slide away from him on the seat. "However, I do have one rogue minion, not nearly as well behaved as the rest."

"Oh?"

"Oh, indeed. You may know him as 'that annoying Italian bastard.' Or Blaise. Whatever."

"Draco!" Hermione snapped, looking up at him.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"Would you please stop being so bloody-"

An explosion interrupted her, and her attention (as well as that of the teachers and other students) was diverted down the table to where Neville's cup of pumpkin juice had exploded. Draco nodded wordlessly across the hall to Crabbe and Goyle. The pair rushed over to a distraught Blaise, covering his mouth and pulling him from the hall.

"Wanker, trying to interrupt my Hermione time… Well, that's what he gets… bastard…" Draco muttered to himself.

"Your… what?" Hermione asked, lifting her eyebrows sceptically.

"Nothing… Anyway, we have potions together first, right?"

"We do."

"Let's sit together!"

"…"

"Yay! …I mean, yes."

- - -

Saturday came quickly. Hermione woke early, having planned a study date with Blaise in the library after spending most of Friday with an enthusiastic Draco.

She was near the end of the corridor when a figure came jogging around the corner, bumping into her. She fell gracelessly to the ground, wincing as her behind came in contact with the hard floor.

"Oh, hey, Hermione. Sorry 'bout that." Ernie said, offering her a hand up.

"Ernie," Hermione replied with a smile, letting him pull her up. "Morning. I was just heading to the library to meet Blaise, but I think I'm a bit early - if you're interested, we could compare some notes for that charms assignment?"

"Sounds wonderful, but I'm afraid I'm busy today. I'm actually meeting with Ronal- Ron, we're going to Hogsmeade together." He checked his watch. "But I have a feeling he forgot or is still asleep. Would you mind telling him I'm waiting with the others going to Hogsmeade?"

"Not at all. See you later."

- - -

"Ronald!" A familiar voice screeched in Ron's ear.

Ron moaned and grabbed his pillow, pulling it over his head. "Leave me, wench."

Hermione huffed and grabbed his pillow from him. "Don't you dare call me a wench, Ronald Billius Weasley. You get out of bed this instant."

Ron grumbled and stumbled out of bed accordingly, glaring at Hermione. "Women." He muttered scathingly. "Can't live with 'em, can't bloody kill them either."

Hermione crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently, ignoring Ron's abusive ramblings. "Go do whatever it is that wakes you up in the mornings, Ron. I expect you outside and ready to go to Hogsmeade in ten."

"Yes ma'am, of course ma'am." Ron said sarcastically, saluting her.

Hermione's angry façade finally broke, and she laughed, ruffling his already messy red hair. "See you later, Ron."

"Mmm." Ron grunted in reply as she left him.

- - -

Ron searched the crowd of excited students for Hermione, knowing it was rather impossible for her to be anything other than punctual.

Someone cleared their throat behind him and he whirled to face Ernie, wearing a blue shirt which really brought out his hazel eyes- No! Ron back-tracked, ignoring the fact that the cute, disarrayed blonde boy looked oddly better than usual.

"Morning Ron," Ernie greeted him. "Haven't kept you waiting too long, have I? Was talking to Susan about the upcoming-"

"What are you doing here?!" Ron asked.

"I'm accompanying you to Hogsmeade. Have you already forgotten our arrangement?" Ernie shook his head with a small smile. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Nothing?" Ron asked hopefully.

Ernie ignored his hint and continued, grabbing Ron's hand and leading him to the line of carriages ready to transport students. "I can already tell today's going to be wonderful!"

With a groan Ron relented, allowing Ernie to pull him into one of the carriages.

- - -

Ron stood stiff and attempted to keep a meter between him and Ernie at all times.

_A slight improvement from the carriage ride over_, Ernie decided, _which was full over awkward silences and a small fit on Ron's part where he was convinced he could breathe_.

"Ron, really…" Ernie smirked, punching him mockingly in the arm. "Bit superfluous don't you think? I won't bite." '_Unless you ask_.' "Relax, mate." Ernie grinned at him, his smile wide.

And though Ron would never admit it, Ernie's grin did make him chuckle a little. "Do you always smile this much?" His own lips twitching at the corners.

"Only around you." Ernie replied. Before Ron could properly process what he'd said, he changed the subject. "What do you think about getting some of your brother's products? I've heard they're marvelous."

"They're brilliant, but don't tell Fred and George that. Don't want their ego's getting any bigger than they are already." Ron replied.

"Bullocks! If there's anything more important than my ego around, I want it caught and shot now." Ron whirled around in panic, glaring at his older brother.

Fred grinned back impertinently, ruffling Ron's hair. "Brilliant, are we little brother? Nice to know you think so highly of us."

"You're products are brilliant," Ron scowled. "Not you. Where's George?"

"Minding the shop while I check out the competition. I'm heading back now actually; guess I'll go with you two love birds."

Ron flushed in anger, whilst Ernie smiled wider than Ron had believed possible.

"Speaking of which, you haven't introduced us, Ickle Ronniekins. Who's this dashing young fellow? I vaguely remember him from Hogwarts." Fred turned his attention to Ernie while Ron groaned. "Hufflepuff, right?"

Ernie nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, yeah. I'm Ernie Macmillon, it's great to meet you."

Fred leered at him, then bounded up to Ernie's side, loping a casual arm over his shoulders. "Great, eh? You know, you're not too bad yourself. You could certainly do better than Ronnie here…" he trailed off suggestively, and Ernie laughed again.

Ron narrowed his eyes at his brother. "Prat." He muttered quietly.

Fred smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "Sorry, didn't quite catch that Ronniekins. Care to repeat?"

Ron flushed again. "Uhm. …Cat. There was a weird… cat."

Ernie lifted an eyebrow in amusement at his poor excuse, and Fred jerked his head around in exaggerated movements, his eyes wide as he feigned searching for said cat. "I see no cat."

"It, ah, disappeared? Yeah."

Fred let out a low whistle. "Is that really the best you can do? You're embarrassing me, I'm thinking I might have to cut ties, tell people we're not related. But hey, Percy will still take you in, even if the rest of the family follow me."

Ron stiffened at this, clenching his fists so tight his knuckles turned white. Fred delightedly took notice of this, following on eagerly. He spoke in an extravagant flourish, as if he were presenting a seminar. "It'll be easy as butterbeer, just lick the minister's boots and Percy will-"

"That's enough."

Both Fred and Ron twisted in surprise at the boy who had previously remained so quiet. Ernie, grimly defiant, looked back at Fred.

"That's enough. Thanks for being so… welcoming, but I don't think I can remain civil if you continue to talk to Ron that way. So we'll be going. See you around." Ernie tugged at a shocked Ron's arm, grabbing his hand, before Fred stopped him.

"Wait, wait. Sorry to offend you; I promise to be on my best behaviour if you come back to the shop with me." He flashed Ernie a hundred watt grin. "As much as we don't show it, we do miss Won-won, and George would be a tad annoyed if he found out I'd botched the chance of a visit."

Ernie glanced questioningly at Ron, who nodded, adding, "Not that what you said actually offended me or anything."

"Course not, never doubted you for a second, Wo- Ron." Fred placated, walking alongside them. "By the way, you sure know how to pick 'em. Quite feisty, eh Ernie. Just like our dear 'Mione." He smirked sleazily at the blonde (who shrugged back), yelping when Ron punched him in the arm. Hard.

"Fred, for the last time you wanker, me and Ernie are just mates."

"Yeah? Do you hold hands with all your mates?" Fred sniggered as Ron pulled his hand away as if he had been burnt, and Ernie looked at him, hurt.

They strolled into Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, impressive inventions stacked on shelf upon shelf. George was in the corner, telling potential customers about the benefits of different products, whilst a tall blonde woman minded the counter.

Fred waited with Ernie and Ron as George finished up with the kids he was talking to, most of who grabbed several products and headed to the counter. "Oy, Georgie-boy! I brought visitors!"

George grinned at them. "Finally, thought you'd never visit us, Ronnie-kins. And who's this then?"

"Ernie, Ron's boyfriend."

"_HE IS NOT MY_-"

"Calm down Ronnie, of course he isn't. We aren't blind; he's obviously out of your league."

Ron fumed silently, the tips of his ears turning pink.

"Hey Gred, why don't you show Won-Won our new fireworks while I show Ernie around?" Fred asked, winking at George.

"A brilliant idea Forge, if I say so myself."

- - -

Ron barely paid attention to anything George was saying, instead taking it upon himself to glance over his shoulder occasionally, where Ernie seemed perfectly content talking to Fred.

He glared at them and then turned his attention back to George.

"…And that was when the talking hippo sat on the cat, swallowing its hat and wanting a mat because it was fat and that-"

"Muh?" Ron asked eloquently.

"Nothing, nothing. Weren't paying attention at all, were you? These fireworks over here-"

"Hey, George, what do you reckon they're talking about?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowing as Ernie laughed at something Fred told him.

"Impending doom, torture, and general sadism - with a side of politics. Not that politics isn't a sadistic subject. Why do you ask?"

"No reason. I'll see you later, we've got to get going." Ron strode away from a slightly baffled George and grabbed Ernie's arm. "We better get going."

"So soon? But we just got here… Well, if you insist." Ernie replied, befuddled.

Fred smirked knowingly at Ron. "Nice meeting you, Ernie. Bye, Ronnie."

"Tell mum I say hi." Ron replied out of obligation.

"Later, little brother." George said, tottering off to talk to his leggy blonde employee.

"Bye Ron. Bring Ernie with you next time you come!" Fred called after them.

The door swung shut behind them and they moved towards the three broom sticks.

"Er… You're squeezing my arm quite tight." Ernie noted.

Ron eeped and let go abruptedly. "Fancy a butterbeer?" He asked uncomfortably, changing the subject.

"Excellent suggestion, Ron. Perhaps after you wouldn't mind a quick stop in Flourish & Blotts, and then on to Honeydukes?"

"Why not?"

- - -

Two rounds of Butterbeers later, Ron stumbled out of the three broom sticks, Ernie right behind him. Loosening up he didn't notice he had forgotten his rule to keep the Hufflepuff a meter away from him.

"Chocolate Frogs…" Ron said brightly. "Liquorice Wands, Pepper Imps, Ice mice- I want them all!" His stomach grumbled laudly, and Ernie snorted.

"You'll have to be patient, quick stop at Flourish and Bott's first."

Ron made a face at the book stores name, but nodded.

They entered the shop in silence, and Ron glanced around at the lack of people. Ernie brought him to a section on Charms, pulling out a book by Gilderoy Lockhart, entitled Charmed. "Genious," He exclaimed, to which Ron snorted.

"You disagree?"

"All that Lockhart is, is an idiot with good hair. Not to mention he'll sign anything if it stands still long enough."

"Nonsense, his hair could be improved if he dyed it red, and have you even read any of his books? They're marvellous."

"Oh, yeah, real witty," Ron scowled playfully, "Especially the part where the biography is longer than the actual text."

"Sod off. I'm sure he just wanted to convey his views on life."

"Right, because knowing his favourite colour is purple is crucial in getting his views across."

"…Fine, it helps that he's particularly easy on the eyes."

"Aha! I knew it."

They moved over to the history section where Ernie grabbed a book on goblins.

"The goblin wars: A detailed account of what transpired." Ron read out. "Sounds _fascinating_…"

Ernie huffed. "Not easy to please, are you?"

"Honeydukes would disagree with you." Ron countered.

"Is there anything _we_ agree on?" Ernie asked, disgruntled.

"…Cockroach clusters are disgusting?" Ron replied thoughtfully, leaning back against the book shelf behind him.

"I'm quite partial to them, myself."

"That's a no, then." Ron answered, feigning violent retching motions.

Ernie laughed, amused at his antics. "Right. Let's agree to disagree. Perhaps we may bond over sugar quills, I don't mind them."

"Yeah, they're pretty convenient, I guess. Does that mean we're leaving this place?" Ron asked hopefully.

Ernie chuckled. "Yes. We're gone."

Ron failed to notice that Ernie only ended up purchasing the book on goblin wars, leaving Lockhart's book forgotten in the history section.

- - -

After getting a sugar hype from ice mice and chocoballs – and inadvertently scaring little children ("Midgets! Oy, midgets! Try the ice mice, they're bloody brilliant!" Ernie elbowed him. "_Ron_," he hissed sharply. "They're not midgets, they're children! I can't take you anywhere.") the two returned to Hogwarts.

Ron hummed tunelessly, rocking back and forth on his feet, as Ernie got out of the carriage to join him.

"I suppose this is goodbye," Ernie said.

Ron nodded and the Hufflepuff waited for him to say something, then sighed when the red head remained silent. "Bye, then." He started towards the entrance hall but stopped short when Ron called out behind him.

"Wait! I- Not that it means anything, don't get the wrong idea… but, you look pretty good in that shirt." Ron went red, and spoke to his shoes. "It makes your eyes… and then… which is…"

Ernie glanced at his top, then back at Ron, then back at his top again and laughed. "I'll make sure to wear it more often just for you."

"Oh, I'm not saying – just if you were curious-"

"I had fun, Ron. We should do this again sometime." Ernie said confidently, smiling at him.

"Well, if you really want to, I guess I don't mind." Ron said, grinning back.

* * *

Ou la la, progress. Hope this chapter wasn't too obviously rushed. I may, if I can be bothered, go over this chapter and improve it. Quite a lot of me ignoring potential things to write.

A nice example of opposites attracting, and Ernie managed to make Ron loosen up, hoo-rah. And jealous, although neither of them notice that, and Fred certainly did.


End file.
